Haiti Officials, Media Say PM Lapin Has Resigned

Haiti's President Jovenel Moise stands with the newly-named interim Prime Minister Jean Michel Lapin, during the national anthem at the minister's presentation ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, March 21, 2019

Haitian Prime Minister Jean Michel Lapin resigned on Monday, according to a high-ranking government official who asked not to be named, presenting a shakeup at the highest levels of government in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

President Jovenel Moïse also wrote in a post on Twitter that a new prime minister will be announced shortly, saying he had been in consultations with congressional leaders about the matter.

Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste first reported on Monday that Lapin had offered his resignation to Moïse.

"I have made a choice for Haiti," Lapin said in an interview with the newspaper.