PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A wealthy businessman on Thursday became the head of Haiti's transitional presidential council tasked with restoring order in the troubled country as a top gang leader underscored the challenges facing the nation by vowing to overthrow the government.

Laurent Saint-Cyr's appointment at the council's heavily guarded office in the capital, Port-au-Prince, where criminal gangs control 90% of the neighborhoods, marked the first time that members of Haiti's private sector serve in both the rotating presidency and the post of prime minister, two positions that share the country's executive duties.

Saint-Cyr had his start at a local insurance company while Haiti's current prime minister once ran an internet firm.

"Our country is going through one of the greatest crises

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