PRINCE PORT – Gary Conille, who was recently elected Haiti’s prime minister, was hospitalized Saturday in the capital, Port-au-Prince, a few days after arriving in the country, the Haitian government said.
The reason for the hospitalization was not reported at this time.
The prime minister’s office said in a statement that Conille felt slightly unwell “after a week of intense activities.” He did not provide any further details, other than to say that Conille was stable and that he thanked those who visited him and wished him well.
Louis Gérald Gilles, a member of the presidential transition council that elected Conille as leader of the Caribbean country, assured that he was on his way to the hospital and had no further information.
A person close to Conille, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said he was with the prime minister when he noticed he appeared to be having trouble breathing. She noted that Conille is asthmatic and sometimes uses an inhaler. The person said she called high-ranking officials and told them Conille needed to be taken to the hospital.
A spokesperson for Conille has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Media outlets observed senior officials enter the hospital, including Frantz Elbé, director of the Haitian National Police. Also present was Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in Haiti. Both declined to comment.
A handful of curious onlookers gathered outside the hospital as authorities blocked the street with SUVs with tinted windows.
Widespread violence in Haiti
Conille was elected prime minister on May 28 after an intricate selection process. He faces a daunting task as Haiti’s new leader, including quelling widespread gang violence as the country prepares for the deployment of a Kenyan police force, a U.N.-backed move that was delayed in part because Haiti lacked a prime minister after former Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned on April 25.
Henry was on an official visit to Kenya when gangs launched coordinated attacks on February 29, burning police stations, shooting up the country’s main international airport and storming Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing more than 4,000 inmates. The violence prevented Henry from entering the country and ended up causing him to resign.
Conille arrived in Haiti on June 1, after having worked outside the country until recently as UNICEF regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, a position he assumed in January 2023. He was previously Prime Minister of Haiti between October 2011 and May 2012, under the mandate of then President Michel Martelly.
Conille has met with several officials and visited various areas of Port-au-Prince since his arrival, even boarding an armored vehicle with a helmet and bulletproof vest to accompany a patrol of agents from the Haitian National Police.
On Saturday, Conille visited Haiti’s main international airport, which just reopened after gang violence forced it to close for nearly three months. On Friday he met with leaders of the private business sector and with the country’s two telecommunications companies.
Conille has also met regularly with the transition council to discuss who should be part of the new Haitian cabinet.
Source: AP
