2026-02-01

The CPT experienced a dramatic internal crisis in late January when five of seven voting members attempted to dismiss Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime just two weeks before the council mandate expiration. On January 23 CPT members Edgard Leblanc Fils and Leslie Voltaire held a press conference announcing the decision claiming a majority vote on January 22. The US State Department issued a sharp rebuke late January 22 stating that retaining Fils-Aime was crucial for Haiti anti-gang efforts and warning that politicians aligning with violent gangs would face significant consequences. On January 29 CPT member Smith Augustin issued a letter to his colleagues withdrawing his support for the dismissal motion preventing Fils-Aime removal by reducing the anti-PM faction to a minority. Augustin stated he initially supported the dismissal believing it might facilitate the February 7 institutional transition but had reconsidered viewing further decision-making as institutional escalation with unpredictable consequences. A subsequent attempt to remove CPT coordinator Laurent Saint-Cyr also failed when Augustin refused to participate. On January 27 the US State Department imposed visa restrictions on two CPT members and one cabinet minister citing their engagement in the management of gangs and other illicit groups in Haiti and obstruction of the government anti-gang efforts. The announcement brought the total number of CPT members under US sanctions to five. The State Department did not name the individuals publicly but noted the restrictions applied to the officials and their immediate families. This escalation signals growing donor frustration with transitional authorities and represents unprecedented direct intervention in Haiti governance composition. Three CPT members Smith Augustin Emmanuel Vertillaire and Louis Gerald Gilles face ongoing corruption charges stemming from allegations they solicited approximately 760000 dollars in February 01, 2026 bribes from the chairman of state-owned Banque Nationale de Credit to secure his position. The ULCC Anti-Corruption Unit demanded prosecution in December 2024 but the Port-au-Prince Court of Appeals suspended judicial summons in February 2025 citing presidential immunity. The three remain in office but excluded from the six-month rotating presidency. CPT members Voltaire and Leblanc Fils publicly criticized international interference stating everyone is seeking a Haitian resolution to the crisis but when we begin to formulate a Haitian resolution the international community intervenes with all its might.