Recognition…Valerie Baeriswyl / Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
The Prime Minister said the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was murdered in an attack in his house on the outskirts of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Mr Moïse’s wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot dead in the attack, Prime Minister Claude Joseph said in a statement. Her condition was not immediately clear.
“A group of strangers, some of whom speak Spanish, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic, fatally wounding the head of state,” said the Prime Minister.
Mr. Joseph said in a telephone interview that he is currently the one ruling the country.
The news rocked the impoverished Caribbean island nation 675 miles southeast of Miami. Haiti has a long history of dictatorships and coups d’état, and democracy never fully took hold.
In recent months, the streets of Haiti have been clogged with angry protests demanding the removal of Mr Moïse. He had clung to power and ruled by decree for over a year, with many – including constitutional scholars and legal experts – claiming his term had expired.
The country has not rebuilt since a devastating earthquake 11 years ago, and many say it is doing worse despite billions of dollars in reconstruction aid. Armed gangs patrol the streets and even kidnap school children and church pastors in the middle of their church services. Poverty and hunger are on the rise, and the government is accused of enriching itself without providing even the most basic services.
Mr. Joseph said the president was “cowardly murdered” but the killers “cannot murder his ideas.” He urged the country to “keep calm” and said he would speak to the nation on Wednesday. He said the country’s security situation is under the control of the police and army.
But international observers warned that the situation could quickly spiral out of control.
Didier le Bret, the former French ambassador to Haiti, told France 24 that the political situation was volatile. A new Prime Minister, Ariel Henry, was due to be sworn in on Wednesday. Because that didn’t happen, it wasn’t clear who ruled the country, he said.
“It’s a big question mark,” he said, warning that the situation could lead to more widespread violence.
Harold Isaac, Elian Peltier and Constant Méheut contributed to the coverage.
Recognition…Valerie Baeriswyl / Agence France-Presse – Getty Images
Jovenal Moïse struggled to quell growing public anger over his attempt to retain power, despite the opposition insisting that his term in office had expired.
Mr Moïse had ruled by decree for more than a year. Many, including prominent lawyers, claim his term ended in February. Haiti has been rocked by protests against its rule and has seen gang activity rise as well.
The opposition said Mr Moïse’s five-year term should have ended on February 7th, five years to the day since his predecessor Michel Martelly resigned. When Mr Moïse refused to leave office, thousands of Haitians took to the streets and set fire to trash and tires as they called for his resignation.
In response, the government announced the arrest of 23 people, including a chief judge and a senior police officer, who the President said tried to kill him and overthrow the government.
“The aim of these people was to assassinate my life,” said President Moïse at the time. “This plan has been canceled.”
Mr Moïse insisted that he had one year left in office as his term only started one year after the vote that put him at the top on allegations of electoral fraud.
The protests this year were part of wider riots in which heavily armed gangs clashed in the streets and attacked police stations.
“While the exact numbers are still unclear, preliminary estimates suggest that thousands of people have fled their homes and sought refuge with host families or settled in informal shelters,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said last Month in a report on the situation.
Recognition…Jean Marc Herve Abelard / EPA, via Shutterstock
Despite public unrest and weak political support, he pursued an aggressive agenda in the months leading up to the assassination of President Jovenal Moïse, which included revising the country’s constitution.
Among the provisions he pushed for was one that granted Haiti’s leaders immunity for all actions during his tenure, leading critics to accuse him of threatening democracy and leading the country on a course towards authoritarian rule.
“We need a system that works,” said Moïse in a phone interview with the New York Times in March. “The system is not working now. The President cannot work to deliver. “
The US, whose support for Haiti is vital, had asked the country to hold presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as technically possible. It also resisted efforts to draft a new constitution based on the guidelines proposed by Mr Moïse.
Foreign Minister Antony Blinken outlined the tougher stance of the Biden administration during a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in June.
Although many have criticized Mr Moise’s approach to reshaping the government, many Haitians say a new constitution is needed.
The current one has created two competing centers of power in the country – the president and the prime minister – which often creates friction and a fragmented government.
The draft constitution would have abolished the Senate, left a single legislative body elected every five years, and replaced the office of prime minister with a vice-president who reports to the president in order to streamline the government.
