After almost two years, Haiti's transitional presidential council handed power to US-backed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime on Saturday.

The nine-member council stepped down as it failed to curb rampant gang violence during its two-year-long rule, leaving the Caribbean country in a political limbo and Fils-Aime as the country's only politician with executive power.

"Our watchwords are clear: security, political dialogue, elections, stability. Mr. prime minister, in this historic moment, I know that you are gauging the depth of the responsibility you are taking on for the country," Council President Laurent Saint-Cyr told Fils-Aime. 

Why did the presidential council resign?

Haiti, which is the poorest country in Latin America,has long struggled with deadly gang violence, frequent murders, rapes and kidnappings.

The council failed to curb the growing risk of gang violence, and its term was marked by food insecurity, corruption accusations and political infighting.

In late January, several members of the council admitted that they were seeking ⁠to oust the prime minister, even though the US threatened serious consequences should they do ‌so and threw its weight behind Fils-Aime staying on after February 7.

The US also said the council must relinquish power and has imposed sanctions on five council members. 

"As the Transitional Presidential Council's mandate ends on February 7, we support Prime Minister Fils-Aime's leadership in building a strong, prosperous and free ‍Haiti," the US Embassy in Haiti said on Wednesday.

What now?

Fils-Aime now faces the task of filling the political vacuum and organizing elections in Haiti, where elections have not been held since 2016.

In Haiti, which has long struggled with violence, about 1.4 million people, or 10% of the population, face displacement and acute food insecurity.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stressed "the importance of his continued tenure as Haiti's prime minister to combat terrorist gangs and stabilize the island."

Days before the council was dissolved, the US sent three warships to the capital, Port-au-Prince, 90% of which is now under the control of gangs.

"The naval presence appears to provide the latest proof of Washington's willingness to use the threat of force to shape politics in the western hemisphere," said Diego Da Rin, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told Associated Press news agency.

Edited by: Sean Sinico