What to know about the crisis in Haiti after the prime minister's resignation

• "We have served the nation in difficult times. I thank all those who had the courage to face such challenges with me," Henry wrote in a resignation letter that was released by his office Thursday.

Catch up quick: A long-simmering crisis in Haiti reached a critical point in March after armed gangs attacked government buildings and forced Henry to announce his intent to resign.

• The violence that crested in February and March this year compounded one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises.
• More than 2,500 people have been injured or killed in Haiti between January and March of this year, per AP.
• Another roughly 15,000 people were rendered homeless in the recent wave of gang attacks, AP reported.

Haiti's recent crises: Natural disasters, gang violence and an assassination

Former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in July 2021 and was replaced — under controversial circumstances — by Henry, who had only recently been appointed acting prime minister.

• After delaying elections several times, Henry faced strong domestic and international pressure to facilitate a transition.

Attacks and violence by gangs in Haiti have surged since 2022 and the number of Haitians facing acute food insecurity has tripled since 2016, according to the United Nations World Food Program.

• The gangs seized control of large swaths of the capital of Port-au-Prince last summer. In Oct. 2023, the UN Security Council authorized the deployment of an international security mission to help quell the violence.

The island country has also been devastated by massive earthquakes and tropical storms.

• The country has still not fully recovered from the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people.

Timeline of the most recent violence

Ahead of Feb. 7 — the day Henry was slated to step down — mass protests break out calling for his removal. He declines, as elections slated for the previous month had once again been delayed.

• In late Feb., Henry leaves Haiti for a trip to Guyana and then Kenya. While in Guyana, he says leaders have agreed to hold elections in August 2025 — another lengthy delay.
• On Feb. 29, Haiti's criminal gangs stage coordinated attacks across Port-au-Prince. Over several days, the gangs burn police stations, shut down the country's main airport, storm the two biggest prisons and free thousands of prisoners, per AP.
• On March 3, Haitian officials declared a state of emergency and impose a nighttime curfew.

Haiti's most powerful gang leader — Jimmy Chérizier, known as "Barbecue" — claimed responsibility for several of the attacks on March 5.

• "If Ariel Henry doesn't resign, if the international community continues to support him, we'll be heading straight for a civil war that will lead to genocide," Chérizier told reporters, CBS News reported.

Resignation of the prime minister

As the violence spiraled, Henry found himself stranded abroad in Puerto Rico, unable to return to Haiti.

• On March 12, Henry announced he panned to resign as prime minister in a video message posted to X.
• "The government that I'm running cannot remain insensitive in front of this situation. There is no sacrifice that is too big for our country," he said, adding that his government would "remove itself" as soon as a transitional presidential council was in place, per AP.
• Henry did not give a timeframe for the transition and remained prime minister — albeit while still exiled in Puerto Rico, per NBC News.

Zoom in: The interim council choosing the new prime minister and cabinet will be made up of nine members, seven of whom will have voting powers, per AP.

• The council will help set an agenda for the new cabinet and establish a national security council. It will also set up a provisional electoral commission, a key requirement before elections can take place, according to AP.

The role of the U.S.

The Biden administration welcomed Henry's resignation announcement last month.

• Since agreeing to resign, Henry has been under U.S. Secret Service protection, CBS News reported.
• White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing on March 15 that the U.S. had long supported "Haitian-led efforts for a peaceful transition of power."
• The transition will be delicate for Washington, however. Some in Haiti had argued the U.S. was effectively propping up Henry through its efforts to stabilize the country.
• "We welcome the formal establishment of Transitional Presidential Council today," a State Department spokesperson told Axios Thursday, adding that the U.S. looks forward to working with international partners to support the council's mission.

The U.S. has encouraged a UN-led operation to restore order in Haiti, without taking the lead in that mission.

• Kenya and a number of Caribbean countries offered to deploy security forces to Haiti.

The Biden administration has pledged $58 million of additional humanitarian assistance to Haiti, Jean-Pierre noted.

• The U.S. military announced the evacuation of nonessential embassy staff from Haiti on March 10.
• A team of U.S. Marines was dispatched to provide additional security to the embassy, U.S. Southern Command announced on March 13.

U.S. citizens in Haiti

Hundreds of Americans in Haiti asked the State Department for assistance in leaving Haiti as the violence worsened.

• The federal government organized chartered flights from the country, as did state governments.
• Florida evacuated 722 Americans from the country between March and April, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' office announced in late April.
• The State Department warned Americans in Haiti earlier this month that its chartered flights would end after April 12, CBS News reported.

Go deeper: As gang wars tear Haiti apart, stalemate over who should intervene

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional developments.