Haiti’s fragile political transition has plunged deeper into crisis as dissenting members of the Presidential Transitional Council attempt to oust their coordinator, Laurent Saint-Cyr, with less than ten days remaining in their mandate. This move comes as a direct response to the failed effort to remove Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé from office, which collapsed when Saint-Cyr refused to publish the dismissal resolution in Haiti’s official journal, Le Moniteur.
The removal initiative has exposed significant fractures within the council’s dissenting faction. Councilor Smith Augustin, one of the original five signatories of the prime ministerial removal resolution, has publicly broken ranks with his colleagues. In a meticulously reasoned letter addressed to fellow advisors, Augustin declared he would not endorse any resolution targeting Saint-Cyr’s position, effectively rendering the removal effort mathematically impossible due to the resulting minority status of its proponents.
Augustin’s correspondence reveals deep concerns about the legal and institutional implications of pursuing such aggressive measures during the transition’s final days. He argues that attempting to force through an unpublished resolution to override previously published decrees establishes a dangerous precedent that could trigger an “uncontrollable institutional spiral.” The councilor further notes that the initial removal attempt has already exacerbated political tensions and created diplomatic friction with international partners, particularly the United States government, which has expressed unusual public support for Prime Minister Fils-Aimé.
This internal crisis emerges against the backdrop of Haiti’s extreme institutional fragility, with the transitional council’s mandate scheduled to conclude on February 7, 2026. Augustin’s withdrawal from the removal campaign represents a significant setback for those seeking last-minute political changes, potentially preserving the current leadership structure through the transition’s completion.