Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti last year. Sources say Moise was assassinated at home, first lady hospitalised amid political instability. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
UPDATE: Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has released a statement on the assassination of the President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise:
“This morning, we awoke to the very sad and disturbing news of the death of Jovenel Moise, the President of the Republic of Haiti, who was killed at his residence at about 1:00 am today, Wednesday 7 July 2021.
“A statement by Prime Minister Dr. Claude Joseph released this morning confirmed the assassination of President Moise and that the President’s wife, First Lady Moise, was also seriously injured.
“The Government of The Bahamas is deeply saddened by these developments and strongly condemns the actions of the perpetrators. We offer our deepest condolences to the Government and the people of Haiti.
“The Heads of Government of CARICOM at its 42nd meeting, which concluded on 6 July 2021, discussed the ongoing situation in Haiti and offered its assistance in finding a peaceful resolution to the political crises.
“I have been in contact with the Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains in contact with our Embassy in Haiti. All staff are safe. The Embassy is monitoring the situation.
“We pray for the people of Haiti and for a peaceful resolution to the political crises.”
FROM EARLIER
By EVENS SANON and DÁNICA COTO Associated Press
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence, according to a statement Wednesday from the country's interim prime minister, who called the killing a "hateful, inhumane and barbaric act."
First Lady Martine Moïse was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalised, interim Premier Claude Joseph said.
Haiti was already in a precarious political situation before the assassination, having grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse. The president ruled by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections and the opposition demanded he step down in recent months.
"The country's security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti," Joseph said in a statement from his office. "Democracy and the republic will win."
In the early morning hours of Wednesday, the streets were largely empty in the Caribbean nation's capital of Port-au-Prince, but some people ransacked businesses in one area.
Joseph said police have been deployed to the National Palace and the upscale community of Pétionville and will be sent to other areas.
Joseph condemned the assassination as a "hateful, inhumane and barbaric act." He said some of the attackers spoke in Spanish but offered no further explanation.
Haiti's economic, political and social woes have deepened recently, with gang violence spiking heavily in Port-au-Prince, inflation spiraling and food and fuel becoming scarcer at times in a country where 60% of the population makes less than $2 a day. These troubles come as Haiti still tries to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew that struck in 2016.
Opposition leaders accused Moïse, who was 53, of seeking to increase his power, including by approving a decree that limited the powers of a court that audits government contracts and another that created an intelligence agency that answers only to the president.
In recent months, opposition leaders demanded the he step down, arguing that his term legally ended in February 2021. Moïse and supporters maintained that his term began when he took office in early 2017, following a chaotic election that forced the appointment of a provisional president to serve during a year-long gap.
Haiti was scheduled to hold general elections later this year.
Comments
mandela 3 years, 4 months ago
60% of Haiti's population earns $2.00 per day, here the minimum wage is around $50.00 per day, umm I wonder why they risk their lives to be here?
GodSpeed 3 years, 4 months ago
and whose fault is that exactly? when they're finished flooding the Bahamas with their people I wonder how much money future "Bahamians" will be making per day.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 4 months ago
Do you really consider yourself a christian? You are just evil....
xtreme2x 3 years, 4 months ago
2ND
tribanon 3 years, 4 months ago
Bahamians are already finding out that violence is more likely to trump Christianity in what is rapidly becoming a predominantly Haitianized Bahamas.
tribanon 3 years, 4 months ago
You sound very much like you're among the many proudloudhaitian FNM'ers.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 4 months ago
God you're dumb..
GodSpeed 3 years, 4 months ago
dummies like you don't get it until it's too late, maybe visit Turks & Caicos, they're more Haitians over there now than Turks Islanders, at one point they had to call the British to stop the Haitian horde which was getting rowdy and ready to take over. Now the Turks Islanders are a minority in their own country and many of them leaving for the UK and US, this wasn't so just 50 years ago. The same fate is in store for the Bahamas.
proudloudandfnm 3 years, 4 months ago
Very Christ like of you..
tribanon 3 years, 4 months ago
Since 1973, successive corrupt political leaders of the PLP and FNM persuasion alike have done nothing to prevent the ongoing invasion of our country by overwhelming numbers of illegal Haitian immigrants and their many offspring born of illegal root. This unchecked aggressive Haitianization of our country has now permeated, and is well on its way to dominating, our police force, our defense force, our court system and our elected officials.
Minnis, like his predecessors, seems quite content to only give fleeting attention for political purposes to the clear and present danger that the Haitianization of our country poses to us, the Bahamian people, and our quality of living and way of life. There is no greater existential national security threat to The Bahamas today.
The Haiti of today is The Bahamas of tomorrow.
themessenger 3 years, 4 months ago
If what you say is true then perhaps our local politicians have more to worry about then just losing and election if our home grown Hyshuns decide to take a leaf out of dey homeys dem book.
Emilio26 3 years, 4 months ago
Do you really think our political and church leaders will allow the Bahamas to get to Haiti's level?
themessenger 3 years, 4 months ago
A national cleansing of our current crop of politicians and a goodly portion of the so called clergy could be considered a Godsend, nod once for yes, twice for no.
DDK 3 years, 4 months ago
HOW MIGHT THE CLEANSING BE ACCOMPLISHED?
licks2 3 years, 4 months ago
What is Haitianization? Hahahahahahahahaha. . .you deep nah!! All them Haitians I know een want yinna nation. . .them too busy working and thing!!
SP 3 years, 4 months ago
"successive corrupt political leaders of the PLP and FNM" accurately sums it all up nicely!
DDK 3 years, 4 months ago
The entire situation in our Bahamas is indeed grim. How proud we will be to fly our bright banner in a failed state overrun by immigrants of another failed state! Government just not have the wherewithal to deal with the massive problem. Their blinders are bigger than those of the poor surrey horses on Bay Street.....
TalRussell 3 years, 4 months ago
Talk has it that a group of well-trained hired guns of Spanish-speaking Mercenaries, invaded the Haitian president's private residence?
Haitian Embassies and Consulates around the world, ordered to be at their highest red alert, including increased protective circle** being placed around Haiti's. Bahamas Consulate-general?
licks2 3 years, 4 months ago
Calm down folks. . .the Bahamas will not be "over ran" by Haitians!! Why would yinna ever think that anywho?
We have more problems with dumb persons in power that with our brothers from the South!! Yinna talking like Haitian "payin" any attention to yall "boogie man" talking!! They too busy to go around "takin ova" yinna country. . .and they can't take over their own. . .why would they want yinna own?
Child een nobody want this place. . .with all yall "dumb" people in it!! Yinna een an "easy" people to deal with!! Ask the Americans them. . .yinna too crazy for Haitians to take over this place!!
JokeyJack 3 years, 4 months ago
I read that the President refused to hold elections. It was said that elections were supposed to be held later this year, but no date had been set. The people got tired of waiting. Now a new President will have to be found somehow.
Eventually people get tired and more tired and when their needs are not met, and they feel they are unable to survive, they take action in the interest of survival. This is human nature.
This process is being tested thoroughly with the current Covid foolishness around the world. It seems that leaders worldwide believe that the people will remain docile sheep forever and wear masks forever and take injections of experimental chemicals forever and make their children breathe excess carbon dioxide forever and not learn facial expressions in kindergarten, and have no jobs forever, and be in lockdowns forever - and will take no action.
I guess that is a gamble. We can watch and see what numbers the dice land on.
TalRussell 3 years, 4 months ago
It is highly unlikely that the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti was some kind of rogue operation?
The assassination, could turn out to be a good move for the Haitian people, yes?
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