Jovenel Moise assassination latest – President of Haiti shot dead at home by mystery Spanish-speaking gunmen

PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH SAYS HE IS NOW IN CHARGE FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION

Prime Minister Claude Joseph said he was now in charge of the country.

Condemning the “inhumane and barbaric act”, Joseph called for calm, saying the police and the country’s armed forces had taken control of the security situation.

PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH’S STATEMENT ON PRESIDENTIAL ASSASSINATION

Prime Minister Claude Joseph’s statement said: “A group of individuals who have not been identified, some of whom were speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and fatally injured the Head of State.”

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ORDERS ‘IMMEDIATE CLOSURE’ OF HAITI BORDER

The government of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday ordered the “immediate closure” of its border with Haiti after the assassination of the president of the neighboring country, Jovenel Moise.

The border closure was effective immediately, the communications officer of the defense ministry, Ceinett Sanchez, told AFP.

US ‘STANDS BY HAITI TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE’ SAYS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI

“We stand ready and stand by them to provide any assistance that’s needed,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

She added: “Of course our embassy and State Department will be in close touch but it’s a tragedy.

“We stand with them and it’s important that people of Haiti know that.”

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR MISSION TO ‘PROTECT THE DEMOCRATIC ORDER’ OF HAITI

Colombia President Ivan Duque called on the Organization of American States on Wednesday to send an urgent mission to Haiti to “protect the democratic order” after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated overnight.

“We reject the vile assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moise,” Duque wrote on Twitter.

“It is a cowardly act full of barbarity against the entire Haitian people.”

WHITE HOUSE DESCRIBES HAITI ASSASSINATION AS ‘HORRIFIC’ AND ‘TRAGIC’

The White House described the attack as “horrific” and “tragic” and said it was still gathering information on what happened.

President Joe Biden will be briefed later Wednesday by his national security team, spokesperson Jen Psaki said during an interview on MSNBC.

HAITI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CLOSED FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION

Haiti’s international airport in Port-au-Prince was closed on Wednesday after the assassination overnight of President Jovenel Moise, according to local reports.

The director of the national airport authority was not immediately available for comment.

HAITI PRESIDENT JOVENEL MOISE ASSASSINATED AFTER GUNMEN STORM HIS PALACE IN DEAD OF NIGHT

INCREASE IN VIOLENCE AS PORT-AU-PRINCE GANGS BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE STREETS

Port-au-Prince had been suffering an increase in violence as gangs battle one another and police for control of the streets.

That violence was fueled by an increase in poverty and political instability. Moise has faced fierce protests since he took office as president in 2017, with the opposition accusing him this year of seeking to install a dictatorship by overstaying his mandate and becoming more authoritarian – charges he denied.

WHAT IS THE CURRENT POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CLIMATE IN HAITI?

The nation of more than 11 million people had grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse’s rule.

Haiti’s economic, political and social woes have deepened, with gang violence spiking heavily in the capital of Port-au-Prince, inflation spiralling and food and fuel becoming scarcer at times in a country where 60% of the population makes less than $2 a day.

PRESIDENT MOISE CLAIMED HE STILL HAD ONE YEAR LEFT IN GOVERNMENT

The country’s leading opposition parties, the judiciary and activist groups said Mr Moise’s five-year term as president ended in February.

But the president claimed he had one year left in office since an interim government ran the country for a year after his election.

HAITIAN EMBASSY IN CANADA TWEETS PRESIDENT MOISE’S ASSASSINATION

The Haitian Embassy in Canada also confirmed Moïse was killed in a tweet.

Posting in French the embassy said: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, during an attack on his residence by mercenaries.

“The First Lady, injured, receives the necessary care. Our hearts go out to the presidential family and to the whole nation.”

FORMER PRESIDENT DENIED ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND BEING ‘A DICTATOR’

Haiti’s current political crisis was fuelled by questions over whether Moise’s presidential term had already expired and he was unlawfully claiming power.

In an interview with the Telegraph last year, he defended himself against claims of corruption and turning Haiti into a dictatorship.

“We’re trying to find a solution to this crisis. I’m not the first president to rule by decree. And I’m confident that the answer is around the corner; then the legislature will be put in place to play its role.”

INSECURITY AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY

The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years.

Joseph was slated to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.

In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to have a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED ‘BY FOREIGNERS WHO SPOKE ENGLISH AND SPANISH’

“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Prime Minister Joseph said.

INCREASE IN VIOLENCE AS PORT-AU-PRINCE GANGS BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE STREETS

Port-au-Prince had been suffering an increase in violence as gangs battle one another and police for control of the streets.

That violence was fueled by an increase in poverty and political instability. Moise has faced fierce protests since he took office as president in 2017, with the opposition accusing him this year of seeking to install a dictatorship by overstaying his mandate and becoming more authoritarian – charges he denied.

PRESIDENT MOISE CLAIMED HE STILL HAD ONE YEAR LEFT IN GOVERNMENT

The country’s leading opposition parties, the judiciary and activist groups said Mr Moise’s five-year term as president ended in February.

But the president claimed he had one year left in office since an interim government ran the country for a year after his election.

FORMER PRESIDENT DENIED ALLEGATIONS OF CORRUPTION AND BEING ‘A DICTATOR’

Haiti’s current political crisis was fuelled by questions over whether Moise’s presidential term had already expired and he was unlawfully claiming power.

In an interview with the Telegraph last year, he defended himself against claims of corruption and turning Haiti into a dictatorship. 

“We’re trying to find a solution to this crisis. I’m not the first president to rule by decree. And I’m confident that the answer is around the corner; then the legislature will be put in place to play its role.”

INSECURITY AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY

The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years.

Joseph was slated to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.

In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to have a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

HAITIAN EMBASSY IN CANADA TWEETS PRESIDENT MOISE’S ASSASSINATION

The Haitian Embassy in Canada also confirmed Moïse was killed in a tweet.

Posting in French the embassy said: “It is with great sadness that we confirm the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, during an attack on his residence by mercenaries.

“The First Lady, injured, receives the necessary care. Our hearts go out to the presidential family and to the whole nation.”

PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED ‘BY FOREIGNERS WHO SPOKE ENGLISH AND SPANISH’

“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Prime Minister Joseph said.

INCREASE IN VIOLENCE AS PORT-AU-PRINCE GANGS BATTLE FOR CONTROL OF THE STREETS

Port-au-Prince had been suffering an increase in violence as gangs battle one another and police for control of the streets.

That violence was fueled by an increase in poverty and political instability. Moise has faced fierce protests since he took office as president in 2017, with the opposition accusing him this year of seeking to install a dictatorship by overstaying his mandate and becoming more authoritarian – charges he denied.

FRANCE CONDEMNS ‘COWARDLY ASSASSINATION’ OF HAITI PRESIDENT

French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian on Wednesday condemned the “cowardly assassination” of Haitian President Jovenel Moise at his private residence and appealed for calm.

“All light must be cast on this crime that took place in a deteriorating political and security climate. I call on all actors in Haitian political life for calm and restraint,” Le Drian said in a statement.

VIDEO CIRCULATED ON WHATSAPP SHOWS UNIDENTIFIED GUNMEN MOVING OUTSIDE HAITI PRESIDENT’S HOME

COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR MISSION TO ‘PROTECT THE DEMOCRATIC ORDER’ OF HAITI

Colombia President Ivan Duque called on the Organization of American States on Wednesday to send an urgent mission to Haiti to “protect the democratic order” after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated overnight.

“We reject the vile assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moise,” Duque wrote on Twitter.

“It is a cowardly act full of barbarity against the entire Haitian people.”