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President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, Assassination Updates: Hours After Haiti’s President Is Assassinated, 4 Suspects Are Killed and 2 Arrested (Published 2021)
Jovenel Moïse was killed in an attack on his private residence on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince. The authorities said late Wednesday that they had intercepted “suspected assassins.”
www.nytimes.com
Haiti’s President Is Assassinated, and Interim Prime Minister Declares ‘State of Siege’
“President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti was assassinated in an attack in the early hours of Wednesday at his home on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the interim prime minister said, creating a political void that threatens to deepen the turmoil that had gripped the country for months.As foreign governments struggled to assess the situation, millions of Haitians anxiously huddled around radios and televisions, staying off the streets as they tried to understand what the coming days might bring.
Mr. Moïse’s wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot in the attack, the interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, said in a statement. Her condition was not immediately clear.
“A group of unidentified individuals, some of them speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the president of the republic and thus fatally wounded the head of state,” the prime minister said, but there was little solid information about who might have carried out the assassination.
In an interview with The New York Times, Mr. Joseph said that he was the one running the country at the moment. Still, it was unclear how much control he had, or how long it might last. A new prime minister had been scheduled to replace Mr. Joseph this week, and the head of the nation’s highest court, who might also have helped establish order, died of Covid-19 in June.
Later Wednesday, in a televised broadcast to the nation, Mr. Joseph presented himself as head of the government and announced that he and his fellow ministers had declared a “state of siege.”
Mr. Joseph called for calm.
“Let’s search for harmony to advance together, so the country doesn’t fall into chaos,” he said.
He also vowed that the commando unit that had carried out the assassination would be brought to justice.
The news of Mr. Moïse’s assassination rocked the Caribbean nation 675 miles southeast of Miami. But it had already been in turmoil.
In recent months, protesters had taken to the streets to demand Mr. Moïse’s removal. He had clung to power, ruling by decree for more than a year, even as many — including constitutional scholars and legal experts — argued that his term had expired. Others, including the United States, backed his position that his term did not end until next year.
Armed gangs control many streets and have taken to kidnapping even schoolchildren and church pastors in the middle of their services. Poverty and hunger are on the rise, and the government has been accused of enriching itself while not providing even the most basic services.
Now, the political vacuum left by Mr. Moïse’s killing could fuel a cycle of violence, experts warned.”
