During a meeting on Monday, November 4, with three members of the Presidential Transition Council (CPT), Prime Minister Garry Conille addressed the issue of alleged foreign mercenaries involved in operations within the country. According to one CPT member, there had been a lack of communication regarding the matter, but “Garry Conille provided us with the necessary explanations. The issue is close to being clarified.”
“The Prime Minister explained that it wasn’t about mercenaries. He walked us through his approach,” a presidential advisor told Le Nouvelliste, declining to elaborate further. However, the advisor noted that this topic had been previously discussed under former CPT President Edgard Leblanc Fils, adding that there was "information withheld by the former CPT president."
Our source from the Presidential Council reported that during the meeting with Garry Conille, he shared documents about the Studebaker Group, which had been presented as a mercenary group in the country. “Now, we are focusing on other matters,” the advisor said, implying that the issue has been clarified.
Asked about recent remarks from the Prime Minister hinting that he might withhold certain sensitive security information from CPT advisors, our source at the CPT admitted that, at times, CPT members could indeed be the source of information leaks.
The CPT contact noted that only three of the nine Council members participated in this meeting with the Prime Minister. “The CPT decided that Leslie Voltaire and Laurent St-Cyr, who oversee security issues in the transition, would lead the meeting. Frinel Joseph also attended as an observer,” explained the presidential advisor.
In contrast to reports from government sources suggesting that the CPT had summoned the Prime Minister on Tuesday to discuss a government reshuffle, our CPT source clarified that this was not the case. However, the advisor emphasized the need for the Presidential Council and Garry Conille to address the reshuffle matter as soon as possible. “But during our meeting on Monday, November 4, we only discussed the Studebaker Group matter with the Prime Minister,” they stated.
Nevertheless, the CPT contact mentioned that the possibility of meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss the reshuffle had been considered, though no date was set.
At a recent gathering titled “Citizens' Forum,” resembling the “Gouvènman Lakay ou” initiative of the Martelly-Lamothe administration, held last weekend in Kenscoff, Garry Conille presented a series of demands to the Presidential Council as prerequisites for restoring normal relations and initiating a cabinet reshuffle.
The Prime Minister insisted on several actions: the publication of the April 3 agreement in Le Moniteur, the establishment of the Government Action Oversight Body (OCAG), the formation of the National Security Council, and the appointment of general directors. Garry Conille also urged the CPT to address the situation of the three Presidential Council members "implicated" in the BNC corruption case.