Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry has agreed to resign and make way for a transitional authority, the president of Guyana said Monday after a regional meeting on the crisis engulfing the poor Caribbean country.

“We are pleased to announce a commitment to a transitional governance arrangement which paves the way for a peaceful transition of power,” said Irfaan Ali, president of Guyana, which now chairs the regional body called Caricom.

Mr Henry, who had held the unelected role since 2021, traveled to Kenya last month to secure its leadership of a United Nations-backed international security mission to help police fight armed gangs.

He became stranded in Puerto Rico, a US territory, while violence escalated in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince where violent gangs called for him to resign. 

Regional officials have been engaged in talks involving members of Haiti’s political parties, private sector, civil society and religious groups aimed at establishing the transition council that would pave the way to the first elections since 2016.

Mr Henry, a neurosurgeon who has been accused of corruption during his time in power, had repeatedly postponed elections saying security must first be restored.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had earlier on Monday called for the creation of a “broad-based, inclusive, independent presidential college”.

This council would be tasked with meeting the “immediate needs” of Haitian people, enabling the security mission’s deployment and creating security conditions necessary for free elections, Mr Blinken said.