Assassination of Haitian president: Terrible and tragic attack, says White House

He described his murder as terrible and tragic Haiti’s President Jovenel Mois shot in the early hours of today at his residence, the White House.

This is an event, as broadcast by APE-MPE, that threatens to further destabilize the poorest country on the American continent, which was already facing a double crisis, political and security.

The announcement of the assassination was made by the interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, APE-MPE reports. “The president was assassinated inside his house by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish. “They attacked the residence of the president of the Republic,” he said. “The situation is under control,” he said.

The president’s wife was injured in the attack, which occurred around 01:00 (local time, 08:00 Greek time) and is being treated, explained Joseph. He called on the population to remain calm and clarified that the police and the army will ensure order.

In Washington, the White House called the assassination of the Haitian president “terrible” and “tragic” and stressed that the United States is ready to offer assistance to Haiti.

It’s about “A terrible attack, a tragic attack, targeting the President of Haiti and his wife overnight”said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “We are ready to help the Haitian people, the government of Haiti, with any form of assistance, if an investigation is carried out,” he added.

Assassination of the President of Haiti: Who was Jovenel Moise

Coming from the business world, 53-year-old Jovenell Moise was elected president in 2016, promising to develop the country’s economy and took office on February 7, 2017.

He was active in many economic fields, including banana plantations, and had almost no political experience when elected, and was little known to his countrymen.

The scourge for Haiti is insecurity and especially ransom kidnappings by gangs, which go unpunished. Because of this situation, Joubenel Moise, who was accused of inaction in the face of the crisis, faced a strong reaction from much of civil society.

In this context, which created fears that general anarchy would prevail, the UN Security Council, the United States and Europe had called for free and transparent parliamentary and presidential elections by the end of 2021.

Jouvenel Moise announced the appointment of a new prime minister on Monday, by Ariel Henry, whose mission would be precisely to hold elections.

Jouvenel Moyes, who has ruled by decree since January 2020 without a parliament and during his term in office, has also launched an institutional reform.

A constitutional referendum, originally scheduled for April, was first postponed to June 27 and then postponed again to September 26 due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The reform was aimed at strengthening the executive branch.

The violence of the gangs

But the deteriorating situation in the country was even more evident on the streets of Port-au-Prince.

As of early June, clashes between rival gangs in western Port-au-Prince had paralyzed traffic in the southern half of the country and in the Haitian capital.

Thousands of residents of the very poor Martisan district, claimed by the gangs, they were forced to leave their accommodations and take refuge in relatives or in gyms.

On June 30, 15 people were killed in an exchange of fire in downtown Port-au-Prince, including a journalist, Diego Charles, and an opposition politician, Antoinette Dickler.

In the political field, Jouvenel Moise had appointed seven prime ministers during his tenure. The last in line, Ariel Henry, failed to take office.

“My mission is simple. “The president instructed me to create an environment conducive to holding elections with the participation of all, with strong participation”, he had stated yesterday, Tuesday, speaking to the French Agency.