THAT’S ALL COMING UP IN YOUR FORECAST. HAITI HAS A NEW INTERIM PRIME MINISTER AND ADVISORY COUNCIL, THIS A DAY AFTER THE COUNTRY’S PRIME MINISTER STEPPED DOWN FOLLOWING MONTHS OF UNREST AND GANG VIOLENCE IN THE CAPITAL CITY. TAYLOR HERNANDEZ SPOKE WITH A FORMER HAITIAN AMERICAN LAWMAKE TODAY AND TAYLOR OPINIONS ARE SPLIT AMONG THE HAITIAN COMMUNITY ABOUT WHERE THE COUNTRY GOES FROM HERE. TIFFANY THAT’S CORRECT. BUT THIS RESIGNATION, IT REALLY PAVES THE WAY FOR A NEW COUNCIL, AN INTERIM PRIME MINISTER, AND EVENTUALLY A PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THAT WILL TAKE PLACE THERE IN FEBRUARY OF 2026. WHEN YOU SPEAK WITH A LOT OF FOLKS IN THE HAITIAN POPULATION HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA, OPINIONS ARE DIVIDED. SOME FEEL NO INTERNATIONAL INTERVENTION IS NEEDED, BUT OTHERS SAY ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. SOUTH FLORIDA ATTORNEY PHILLIP BRUTUS WAS THE FIRST HAITIAN AMERICAN ELECTED TO THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE BACK IN 2000, WHERE HE SERVED SIX YEARS. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD LIVE TO SEE THE DAY HAITI GOT TO THIS POINT. I KNEW THERE WAS POVERTY. I KNOW THERE WAS DICTATORSHIP. I KNEW THERE WAS SOME ISSUES, BUT THE GOVERNMENT NEVER COLLAPSED LIKE THAT BEFORE MOVING TO THE STATES AT 14, HE WAS BORN IN PORT AU PRINCE, A CITY THAT NOW LOOKS LIKE THIS, SOMETHING HE HOPES WILL CHANGE WITH THE APPOINTMENT OF A COUNCIL FOLLOWING PRIME MINISTER ARIEL HENRY’S RESIGNATION YESTERDAY. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THERE FOR 90 DAYS. HE SPENT TWO AND A HALF YEARS. THE PROBLEM WITH HIM IS THAT FINALLY RESIGNING GIVES A COUNTRY AN OPPORTUNITY TO START AGAIN, TO START ANEW. BUT THE PEOPLE AGAIN WHO ARE WITH HIM, WHO WERE WHO WHEN THE GANGSTERS MURDERED, KILLED, BURNED HOUSES, HOSPITALS, UNIVERSITIES, THEY DID NOTHING. BRUTUS DOES HAVE RESERVATIONS, THOUGH, AS SOME OF THE NEWLY APPOINTED CABINET MEMBERS HAVE TIES TO THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER. YES, REMOVING HIM IS GOOD, BUT WHERE WE GO FROM HERE IS, UH. THE JURY’S STILL OUT ON THAT. THAT NINE MEMBER TRANSITIONAL COUNCIL WILL BE IN PLACE UNTIL FEBRUARY SEVENTH, 2026. THAT IS WHEN THEY ARE HOPING TO HAVE A NEW PRESIDENT SWORN IN IN HAITI.
First Haitian American legislator reacts to the resignation of Haiti’s Prime Minister
Phillip Brutus became the first Haitian American in the Florida Legislature when he was elected in 2000.Brutus was born in Port-au-Prince and moved to the United States at 14 years old.”I never thought I would live to see Haiti get to this point,” he said. “I knew there was poverty. I knew there was a dictatorship. I knew there were some issues, but the government never collapsed like this.”On The Record: Haiti gripped by gang violenceHe said that among the Haitian population in South Florida, some feel there is no need for international government intervention, and others are ready for change.”Put that money on the ground in the hands of people who have proven themselves not to be corrupt,” Brutus said. “I think you would have a better bang for your buck instead of just a foreign military intervention.”Following the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, a cabinet of nine people and an interim prime minister were selected.“This new council, it is considering the disaster and catastrophe Haiti has been through the past several decades, and particularly the last few years, it is a solution that presents a seemingly workable alternative,” Brutus said.While he said this resignation was a step in the right direction, he does have some reservations because of ties between the former prime minister and the newly appointed council.“Yes, removing him is good, but where we go from here, the jury is still out on that,” he said.Top headlines:Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25 Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
Phillip Brutus became the first Haitian American in the Florida Legislature when he was elected in 2000.
Brutus was born in Port-au-Prince and moved to the United States at 14 years old.
“I never thought I would live to see Haiti get to this point,” he said. “I knew there was poverty. I knew there was a dictatorship. I knew there were some issues, but the government never collapsed like this.”
On The Record: Haiti gripped by gang violence
He said that among the Haitian population in South Florida, some feel there is no need for international government intervention, and others are ready for change.
“Put that money on the ground in the hands of people who have proven themselves not to be corrupt,” Brutus said. “I think you would have a better bang for your buck instead of just a foreign military intervention.”
Following the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, a cabinet of nine people and an interim prime minister were selected.
“This new council, it is considering the disaster and catastrophe Haiti has been through the past several decades, and particularly the last few years, it is a solution that presents a seemingly workable alternative,” Brutus said.
While he said this resignation was a step in the right direction, he does have some reservations because of ties between the former prime minister and the newly appointed council.
“Yes, removing him is good, but where we go from here, the jury is still out on that,” he said.
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Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
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