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PoliticsHaiti

New Haiti prime minister hospitalized

June 9, 2024

Garry Conille was appointed by Haiti's transitional council at the end of last month to lead the country’s new interim government.

https://p.dw.com/p/4gpIc
Prime Minister Garry Conille speaks during the ceremony to hand over the ampliation of the decree appointing him as Prime Minister
Conille took office just over a week agoImage: Guerinault Louis/Anadolu/picture alliance

Haiti's new prime minister, Garry Conille, was hospitalized late Saturday in the capital of Port-au-Prince.

"He had an asthma attack. He has doctors at his bedside,"  a government source told French news agency AFP.

The source added it was possible the prime minister would be evacuated abroad for treatment.

Another unidentified source close to Conille told news agency Associated Press that he was with the leader when he appeared to have trouble breathing. The source said Conille was asthematic and sometimes used an inhaler.

The prime minister's office, in a statement, said that Conille was feeling slightly unwell after "a week of intense activities."

Local media reported that the 58-year-old leader was hospitalized with respiratory issues but appeared to be in stable condition. 

Police guard outside the hospital where Haiti's newly selected prime minister, Garry Conille was hospitalized in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Curious onlookers and several ambulances were seen outside the hospital in capital Port-au-Prince while police officers blocked the streetImage: Odelyn Joseph/AP Photo/picture alliance

Haiti's leadership crisis

Conille was only sworn in as prime minister on June 3. He was chosen for the role by a transition council and given the task to restore stability in Haiti and regain control from violent gangs.

The council aims to hold elections before Feb 7, 2026.

The interim prime minister's hospitalization comes after series of crises in the country's leadership.

Haiti has been left without a president till this day after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021. 

Meanwhile Ariel Henry resigned from the Prime Minister's post in March this year after he left Haiti so seek support for the Kenyan security mission and was unable to re-enter the country.

mk/lo (AFP, Reuters, AP)