By Gerrino J. Saunders
Bahama Journal News Editor

A day after businessman Laurent Saint-Cyr was appointed as President of the
Transitional Presidential Council of the Republic of Haiti the Government of The
Bahamas extended congratulations.
The statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said “The Bahamas reaffirms its
commitment to working with Mr. Saint-Cyr who built his wealth in the insurance
industry, the transitional council, the government and the people of Haiti to
advance the restoration of peace and security in Haiti.”
However, the transitional presidential council is considered to be largely unpopular
among Haitians.
Saint-Cyr’s inauguration ceremony took place on Thursday at the Villa d’Accueil,
a colonial-style mansion in a suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince. During his first
communication to the country he said “We must restore state authority. The
challenges we face are certainly linked to insecurity, but they also are the result of
our lack of courage, a lack of vision and our irresponsibility.”
The transitional council has been appointed ahead of scheduled elections to usher
in a stable government to fight gang violence and change the culture of corruption
and reverse the country’s crippling state of economic insecurity.
While appearing on Love 97 Radio Talk Show Issues of The Day with host
Christian Jones this week the Minister of National Security Wayne Munroe called
on the international community to increase its support for law enforcement in
Haiti. Kenyan Police officers lead a multi-national peace keeping force in the fight
against Haitian gangs.
As for The Bahamas it makes an assessment as to what type of assistance it can
provide and having RBDF officers on foot patrol is not something The Bahamas
has committed to.

However he said, “There is an issue that the Kenyan’s keep raising is proper
support financially and materially by the developed countries for this mission to
stabilize Haiti. The complaint is for instance the US and Europe have sent billions
of dollars to Ukraine and have not done anything, not even a fraction of that to
seek to address situation in Haiti in terms of providing appropriate equipment and
other means necessary for the Kenyan multi-national force, the Haitian national
police and the whole mission.”
Asked by the host if there was any lobbying by The Bahamas and CARICOM in
Washington for more assistance for Haiti Mr. Munroe said, “That’s above my pay
grade in terms of being the foreign ministry and not the military aspect of it. But I
have no doubt that there is lobbying going on for it.”
According to Minister Munroe there are currently three Royal Bahamas Defense
Force Officers working in “command roles” at the airport in Port Au’ Prince who
are comfortable in their roles working along with the Haitian police.
Haiti’s federal government has been largely displaced from downtown Port-au-
Prince, where gangs are said to control nearly 90 percent of the city. Gang leaders
had threatened to interrupt the swearing in ceremony forcing an increase in
security forces by the United Nations and Kenyan forces that prevented any
attacks.

Haiti has not held a presidential election since 2016, and turmoil in the country
increased following the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moise and criminal
networks have exploited the power vacuum to expand their own influence and
wealth through bribery, intimidation or death.

Saint-Cyr is meant to be the final head of the council before it completes its task of
holding a presidential election on February 7, 2026. At that point, Saint-Cyr and
the council are expected to hand off power to the election’s winner.

Elections for roles in the federal government are expected to be held in three
stages, starting in November 22025 and ending with February’s presidential race,
but gang violence and attacks could interrupt those plans.

Since the appointment of Saint-Cyr and the transitional council a state of
emergency has been declared as gang violence continues with attacks across the
country. The measure will cover the West, Centre and Artibonite regions that have
seen an increase in attacks by gangs in recent months.
Threats of violence have forced essential services to shut down, including hospitals
and roadways, and nearly 1.3 million people have been displaced from their
homes.

The United Nations estimates that close to 5,000 people in Haiti have been killed
between October 2024 and June of 22025.

The humanitarian situation in Haiti is considered among the most dire in the world,
and Saint-Cyr called on the international community to assists in this regard.

He said, “I invite all international partners to increase their support, send more
soldiers and provide more training. I am asking the security forces to intensify their
operations.”

“Our country is going through one of the greatest crises in all its history. It’s not
the time for beautiful speeches. It’s time to act,” he said.