Haiti is bracing for possible unrest as the country’s Transitional Presidential Council, an interim governing body installed in 2024, is set to reach the end of its term Saturday.
The U.S. Embassy sent an alert Friday morning urging Americans in Haiti to stay alert for “unrest outside the normal” tied to the February 7th deadline. They warn Americans against traveling to or within the country.
The council, made up of nine members, was appointed to help restore order as Haiti faced escalating gang violence. Now, with the term expiring, concern is growing that the transition could trigger new instability, particularly in and around Port-au-Prince, where armed gangs have tightened their grip on neighborhoods and key roadways.
One U.S. citizen running a hospital in the capital region says frontline institutions could be caught in the middle.
Kareen Ulysse leads Centre Hospitalier de Fontaine in Cité Soleil, a facility that has operated since 1991. She said the hospital employs 185 staff members and treated roughly 50,000 patients last year.
Ulysse also said the site includes Haiti’s largest neonatal intensive care unit, along with a school and an orphanage.
“There are drones that are dropping bombs throughout Cité Soleil in different areas,” Ulysse said, describing what she says has become an increasingly dangerous environment for patients, staff, and families.
Despite the risks, she said the hospital intends to remain open and urged armed groups and authorities to protect essential spaces.
“We’re planning on staying open,” Ulysse said. “I strongly believe you all should do everything you can to spare schools, hospitals, churches, and displaced camps.”
The U.S. government called for the council’s Saturday deadline
Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month urged the council to leave on February 7th while also lending his support to Haiti current Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé.
Ulysse is also calling on the U.S. government to avoid actions that could put the facility in the line of fire. She pointed to U.S. naval ships positioned off Haiti’s coast and noted public calls for the transitional council to leave office.
“If it’s time for the military along with the Haitian National Police to do ground tactical work,” she said, “when they’re putting their coordinates, whether it’s for drones or to enter locations, they need to know this hospital is currently open and we have patients inside.”
Ulysse says her biggest fear is what happens if the hospital is hit. She worries there would be no capacity to rebuild quickly, even as casualties rise. Even now, she relies on donations to stay afloat saying the Haitian government has been of little help.
In related developments, according to our news partners the Miami Herald, the Department of Justice is asking a federal judge in Washington, D.C., who halted the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, to lift that stay.
The department wants a decision by Monday. The Justice Department also filed an appeal, signaling the legal fight is moving and could affect hundreds of thousands of Haitians living and working in the United States.
