Haiti’s new prime minister hospitalized just days after being chosen as the country’s new leader

Haiti’s recently selected prime minister, Garry Conille, was sent to the hospital on Saturday in Port-au-Prince days after arriving in the country, according to the New York Post. The report noted that it was not immediately clear why Conille was hospitalized.

The prime minister’s office released a statement saying Conille was feeling slightly unwell after “a week of intense activities.” However, no details about his condition was released to the public. It stated that he was stable and thanked those who visited him and wished him well.

Louis Gerald Gilles, who is a member of the transitional presidential council, said that he was at the hospital to visit Conille but was not able to reveal any more information about his condition.

The Associated Press reported that one person close to Conille who spoke on condition of anonymity said he noticed Haiti’s new leader seeming to have trouble breathing. The source also noted that Conille is an asthmatic and sometimes needs an inhaler.

The individual said he notified high-ranking officials, telling them that Conille needed to be taken to the hospital for care. However, a spokesman for the new leader did not returns a request for comment.

The Post mentioned that Conille faces an uphill battle as the country’s new leader. One of the most pressing issues for the country is pervasive gang violence. Reports mentioned that the small country is prepared to play host to a UN-backed Kenyan police force to help but a stop to the violence.

The deployment of this police force was delayed partially because Haiti did not have a premier after following former Prime Minister Ariel Henry stepped down at the end of April.

Henry was reportedly on an official trip to Kenya when gangs in Haiti launched an attack on February 29. The gangs stormed two of the largest prison in the country, releasing more than 4,000 inmates.

The extreme violence blocked Henry from getting back into the country, which ultimately led to his resignation.

Conille just arrived to Haiti on June 1. He previously worked as UNICEF’s regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, a position he took over in January 2023.

It is still unclear how Conille intends to combat gang violence throughout the country, and if there is a plan in place to retrieve the inmates who were released under Henry’s administration.