Haiti's PM hospitalised days after being chosen to lead country

New Haitian Prime Minister Garry Conille, left, speaks to the president of the council Edgard Leblanc Fils during his swearing-in ceremony in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 3, 2024. [AP Photo]

Haiti's newly selected Prime Minister, Garry Conille, was hospitalized late Saturday in the capital of Port-au-Prince, an official told The Associated Press.

It wasn't immediately known why Conille was hospitalized.

Louis Gerald Gilles, a member of the transitional presidential council that recently chose Conille as leader of the troubled Caribbean country, said he was en route to the hospital and did not have further information.

A spokesman for Conille did not immediately return a message for comment.

Conille was chosen as prime minister on May 28 after a convoluted selection process. He arrived in Haiti on June 1, having worked outside the country until recently as UNICEF's regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean, a post he assumed in January 2023. He previously served as Haiti's prime minister from October 2011 to May 2012 under then-President Michel Martelly.

Conille has been meeting with multiple officials and visiting various parts of Port-au-Prince since arriving, including climbing into an armored vehicle to go along on a patrol with officers from Haiti's National Police.

Earlier Saturday, Conille toured Haiti's main international airport, which recently reopened after gang violence forced it to close for nearly three months.