From the desk of Ray Joseph
- Haiti’s future in the balance
The capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, is now being dubbed Port-au-Crimes, due to the armed gangs that have spread their control over more territory. No longer valid is the statement of the United Nations that the heavily armed gangs control 80% of the capital. It’s 90%, as of January, since the bandits undertook a campaign aimed at enlarging the territory under their control. It began on January 27, with the invasion of Kenscoff, a plush community, about 15 miles in the mountains southeast of the capital, by the “Viv Ansanm” (Living Together) gang federation. More than 50 people were killed, 100 houses burned and 500 people displaced.
No place is sacred, as attacks in the upscale Port-au-Prince suburb of Pétion-Ville and of Delmas 30 prove. The gangs are determined to take full control of the capital and surroundings. One wonders whether there won’t be a decision to move the seat of national political governance somewhere else.
The International Community bears some responsibility
In that situation, what will the International Community do with the Presidential Council of Transition, known by its French acronym CPT, which was cobbled together in Kingston, Jamaica, on March 11, 2024, by the international overlords, in accord with the leaders of CARICOM, as the organization of Caribbean states is called.
Since the swearing-in, April 3, in Port-au-Prince, of the CPT, there has been no major accomplishment by the 9-headed presidency, which replaced Haiti’s president. As it is, Haiti has been without a president since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, on July 7, 2021.
The foreign overlords paid no attention to Haiti’s revised 1987 Constitution which requires that a judge of Haiti’s “Cour de Cassation” (Supreme Court) should assume the presidency in case the president is incapacitated or dies. But the bigwigs of the international Community impose their own rules. They do as they please, especially with the CORE Group syndicate of their ambassadors in Port-au-Prince in charge of policy for Haiti. For example, following the assassination of President Moïse, that group issued a tweet to name the neurosurgeon Ariel Henry Prime Minister. Assuming power July 20, he was supposed to hold elections in October that year, to transfer power February 7, 2022, to an elected president. He failed to do so and held to power until he was pressured by the U.S. to resign April 25, 2024, while he was in transit in Porto Rico coming from a trip in Kenya. He never set foot back in Haiti, because the gangs had threatened to execute him. Till now he’s in the U.S. living with a relative out west.
The CPT eyeing power indefinitely
Now with the CPT, named by the foreign authorities, we encounter the same problem. The multi-headed presidential team failed to do what should have been done early on to allow elections to be held. During 11 months in power, the CPT didn’t address the most important issue of the moment, that of the gangs. That has led to the current situation in Haiti. Therefore, no credible elections can be held, while gangs are in control of so much territory. No one believes the grand declaration of Leslie Voltaire, current president of the CPT, who promises elections in November and the inauguration of an elected president on February 7, 2026.
The CPT, in line with the interim Prime Minister that preceded it, would like to hold to power indefinitely. Consider that Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé has contracted with a Washington lobbyist to find support for his government from the new administration of President Trump.
Based on documentation at our disposal, on February 24, 2025, there was a FARA (Foreign Agents Registration Act) filed by Continental Strategy LLC., in Washington on behalf of the Republic of Haiti. The filing is signed by Carlos Trujillo.
The Background of Carlos Trujillo Apparently, Prime Minister Fils-Aimé, who’s fronting for the CPT government in finding the right lobbyist in Washington, got the right man to defend their case with the Trump administration. A search reveals that “Carlos Trujillo is an American lobbyist and government affairs professional who previously served as United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States.”
But there’s more about him. Read on: “Carlos is a conservative powerhouse, protecting clients’ interests through high-stakes political strategy. Carlos is a top advisor to President Donald J. Trump, serving as a principal surrogate and lead messenger for his 2024 campaign. Carlos has heavily influenced the nation’s foreign policy, national security, and Latin American affairs. His work has been highlighted by media around the globe, and he has been profiled as one of the most powerful Latino figures in Republican politics, including in The New Yorker and Time Magazine.”
Nothing is said about money. But to have such a personality representing the CPT in Washington must be very expensive. Unless there’s a deal whereby, behind the scenes, the Trump administration is doing something on its own to keep an eye on Haiti by someone fully trusted.
All is not in the bag yet
What comes to mind in all this is a quote of Henry Kissinger, a Republican who was a famous Secretary of State under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford: “To be an enemy of the United States is dangerous. But to be a friend is fatal.”
This was recently repeated by American economist and public policy analyst, Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs, in commenting on the scandalous confrontation of President Trump with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said he advised the Ukrainians to defend their sovereignty. Forget the Americans. The professor is on YouTube, fully explaining his position.
On that score, I turn to an English saying for rescue. Thus, I tell the CPT team, especially to Prime Minister Fils-Aimé: “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.”