The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
President’ s slaying adds to Haiti chaos
Unknown gunmen assassinated Haitian president Jovenel Moise and wounded his wife in their home, inflicting more chaos on the unstable Caribbean country that was already enduring an escalation of gang violence, anti-government protests and a recent surge in coronavirus infections.
Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, confirmed the killing and said the police and military were in control of security in Haiti, where a history of dictatorship and political upheaval have long stymied the consolidation of democratic rule.
While the streets of the Haitian capital, Port-auPrince, were quiet yesterday morning, some people ransacked businesses in one area.
Authorities closed the international airport and declared a “state of siege”.
The country appeared to be heading for fresh volatility ahead of general elections later this year.
Mr Moise, 53, had been ruling by decree for more than a year after the country failed to hold elections and the opposition demanded he step down in recent months.
Joseph is likely to lead Haiti for now, though that could change in a nation where constitutional provisions have been erratically observed, said Alex Dupuy, a Haiti-born sociologist who teaches at Wesleyan University in the United States.
The best scenario would
be for the acting prime minister and opposition parties to come together and hold elections.
“But, in Haiti, nothing can be taken for granted,” said Mr Dupuy.
Haiti’s police force is already grappling with a recent spike in violence in Port-au-Prince that has displaced more than 14,700 people, he said.
Former president Michel Martelly, whom Mr Moise succeeded, said he was praying for first lady Martine Moise, calling the assassination “a hard blow for our country and for Haitian democracy, which is struggling to find its way”.
Mr Joseph said Martine Moise, 47, was shot and in a hospital.
He condemned the president’s killing as a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act”.
In a statement, Mr Joseph said some of the attackers spoke in Spanish but offered no further explanation.
In later statements, he said that they spoke Spanish or English and were highly trained and heavily armed.
A resident who lives near the president’s home said she heard the attack.
“I thought there was an earthquake, there was so much shooting,” said the woman who did not want to be identified.
“The president had problems with many people, but this is not how we expected him to die.
“This is something I wouldn’t wish on any Haitian,” she said.