PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) – Haiti's new interim Prime Minister Gary Connell is in stable condition after being hospitalized for an unspecified illness on Saturday afternoon, his office said.
Local media reported earlier that Connell (58 years old), who took office just over a week ago, was taken to hospital after suffering from breathing problems. His office did not provide details about the reason for his hospitalization.
“After a week of intense activities, the Prime Minister… fell ill with a slight illness on the afternoon of Saturday, June 8, 2024, and went to the hospital to receive treatment,” his office said in a statement.
She added, “His condition is stable at the present time.”
Reuters photos showed a number of ambulances and police officers outside a hospital in a suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where Connell was said to be undergoing treatment.
Connell briefly led the country more than a decade ago, most recently as the former regional director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
He was appointed interim Prime Minister on 29 May by a transitional council tasked with restoring stability and taking back control from violent gangs.
The transitional council aims to hold elections before February 7, 2026, as stipulated in Haiti's constitution, after a series of crises in the country's leadership.
President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021, leaving Haiti to this day without a president, while Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned in March this year after he left Haiti to seek support for Kenya's security mission and was unable to return to the country.