Thousands of protesters in Haiti urge embattled president to quit

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Thousands of demonstrators set fires Monday and chanted calls for this country’s president to resign as the opposition to Jovenel Moise increased pressure for him to leave office. Protesters said several people were hit by gunfire, including a local journalist.

Schools, businesses and government offices were closed as protesters gathered, chanting, “Down with Jovenel!”

“We can’t continue to live like this,” said 34-yearold Lestin Abelo as he poured gasoline on a pile of debris that quickly caught fire. “We have a government that’s not doing anything for the people.”

Opposition leaders and supporters say they are angry about public corruption, spiraling inflation and a dwindling supply of gasoline that has forced many gas stations in this capital city to close. Suppliers have demanded that the cashstrapped government pay them more than $100 million owed.

Protesters also are demanding a more in-depth investigation into allegations that top officials in the previous government misused billions of dollars in proceeds from a Venezuela-subsidized oil plan meant to fund urgent social programs. Critics accuse Moise of trying to protect his ally, former President Michel Martelly, and of participating in the corruption himself before becoming president.

Blood spattered the concrete floor near the Bernard Mevs Hospital as the protest grew violent.

Local radio journalist Joseph Edmond was shot in his right hand while covering the protest. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, said colleague Eddy Baptiste, who was next to him when it happened.

Baptiste said Edmond, 22, was injured when police in an unmarked car began firing at a distance so they could get away from the crowd.

Police threw tear gas and scattered thousands of protesters at midafternoon, with one tear gas canister landing on a family’s roof as several people fled the house in panic.

Other protesters fled with handkerchiefs over their faces as they flushed themselves with water. One man held a crushed lemon to his nose.

Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press A barricade burns during a protest Monday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, calling for President Jovenel Moise to give up power. Moise, who began his five-year term in 2017, has said he will not leave and instead has called for unity and dialogue.