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According to reports, Haitian President Yovernell Mois was assassinated by a group of armed men in his home early on Wednesday morning.
The Interim Prime Minister of Haiti announced that Haitian President Yovernell Mois was assassinated in his home early on Wednesday morning and his wife was injured.
Such behavior may further destabilize Caribbean countries plagued by gang violence and political instability.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared that the country has entered a “state of martial law” and said that he is now in charge of the country, urging people to remain calm while insisting that the police and the army will ensure public order.
According to CNN, Haiti’s borders and international airport have been closed.
“The President was assassinated at home by foreigners who speak English and Spanish,” Joseph said of the attack that occurred at around 1 a.m. local time, which led to the hospitalization of the president’s wife Martin.
He said the attacker claimed to be an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the live video.
“I believe they are fake DEA agents,” he told reporters.
State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that the claim that the attacker was a DEA agent was “absolutely wrong.”
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After the 2018 legislative elections were postponed due to controversy (including when his own term ends), Moise passed a decree to rule Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas.
In addition to the political crisis, kidnappings for ransom have increased sharply in recent months, reflecting the growing influence of armed groups in Caribbean countries.
Haiti is also facing chronic poverty and recurring natural disasters.
The president faced strong opposition from a large number of people who believed that his authorization was illegal, and he replaced seven prime ministers in four consecutive years.
Recently, Joseph was supposed to be replaced this week after only three months in office.
In addition to the presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was originally scheduled to hold a constitutional referendum in September, which was postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic.
World reaction
The head of EU foreign policy Jose Puborel said he was “shocked” by the assassination and warned that it could further destabilize the Caribbean countries.
“This crime poses a spiralling risk of instability and violence. The perpetrators of this assassination must be found and brought to justice,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.
The United States condemned the killing as “terrible” and expressed its readiness to assist in any investigation.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said: “We will help the Haitian people and the Haitian government in any way,” adding that President Joe Biden will be briefed on the incident soon.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was shocked by the “abhorrent” assassination.
After the assassination of neighboring presidents, the Dominican Republic closed its border with Haiti.
The two countries share a 380-kilometer border on the island of Hispaniola. Defense Ministry spokesman Senette Sanchez told AFP that it will close it “immediately.”
Dominican President Luis Abinad condemned the killing and said on Twitter that the crime “undermined the democratic order in Haiti and the region.”
He expressed his condolences to the family of Moiz and his wife Martin.
Local media said that Abinad had summoned military leaders to analyze the situation on the island.
‘Multiple crises’
The 53-year-old former entrepreneur Moise founded a series of businesses in the northern part of the country where he was born, and entered the political arena in 2017 to convey the message of rebuilding the impoverished country.
He campaigned on populist pledges, as all candidates in Haiti do, but he kept up the rhetoric even after he was elected in February 2017.
The date of his election became a source of political stance. Moise insists that his term will last until February 7, 2022, but others claim that it ends on February 7, 2021.
The disagreement stems from the fact that Moise was elected in a vote that was cancelled for fraud, and then re-elected a year later.
Without a parliament, the country plunged further into crisis in 2020 and led to Mois’s passing a decree to govern, exacerbating distrust of him.
The constitution currently in force was formulated in 1987 after the fall of the Duvalier dictatorship and declared that “any popular consultation aimed at amending the constitution through a referendum shall be formally prohibited.”
The UN Security Council, the United States and Europe call for free and transparent legislative and presidential elections to be held before the end of this year.
The murder took place a few days after Moise appointed Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who had studied in France, as the new prime minister of Haiti.
Henry, 71, has been part of the Haiti coronavirus response, having served as the Minister of the Interior in the government in 2015 and 2016, and then the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor.
Henry has a close relationship with the opposition parties, but most opposition parties do not welcome his appointment, and they continue to demand the president’s resignation.
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