Mercenaries, martial law and mourning: what is known about the assassination of the President of Haiti

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was killed in an attack on his residence, said acting Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph.

Joseph said that a group of unidentified individuals, "some of whom spoke Spanish," attacked the residence of the 53-year-old head of state and fatally wounded him.

According to preliminary data from the authorities of the republic, the murder was committed by an armed detachment consisting of foreigners.

Shortly after reports of the president's death, the media announced that the first lady of Haiti was also wounded and subsequently died in hospital.

However, the Haitian Embassy in the Dominican Republic denied the information.

Later, the AP agency, referring to the Ambassador of Haiti to the United States, reported that the wife of the assassinated President of Haiti was sent to a hospital in the American Miami in critical condition.

And about.

Prime Minister of Haiti called the attack on the head of state "an inhuman and barbaric act."

However, he said that the security in the country is under the control of the Haitian National Police and the armed forces of the republic.

Martial law is introduced in the country for 15 days.

For the same period, national mourning is in effect in Haiti.

Details of the attack on the residence of the President of Haiti appeared in the media.

According to the American edition of The Miami Herald, the attackers claimed to be representatives of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

However, the publication, citing a source in the Haitian government, reports that the attackers were mercenaries.

The newspaper also writes that the White House administration denied the connection between the assassins of the Haitian president and the DEA.

The 58th President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, was born in 1968.

After studying at the university, he went into business.

In the 1990s, he opened a business selling car parts, and also went into agriculture and established a banana plantation.

In the early 2000s, Moiz became a member of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of one of the regions of the republic, and later - Secretary General of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Haiti.

In the following years, he founded several other business projects.

In 2015, Moise took part in the presidential elections in Haiti, gaining more than 32% of the vote in the first round.

The second round of voting was initially postponed, but later the results of the already held stage of the elections were invalidated.

Moise won the new elections in 2016.

In 2018, protests began in the republic demanding the resignation of Moiz due to the scandal over the theft of funds for organizing oil supplies from Venezuela.

The protesters also blamed the authorities for the general deterioration of the economic situation in the country and the rise in inflation.

Moise then refused to step down.

Also in 2018, an attempt was made on Moiz's life, but the head of state was not injured.

His guards were wounded.

In 2019, the Haitian parliament initiated impeachment proceedings against the head of state, but the proposal did not receive the necessary support.

Due to the situation with protests, elections to the legislative bodies of the republic were repeatedly postponed, the president ruled the country by issuing decrees.

International reaction

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed its condolences in connection with the death of the President of Haiti. 

“We were deeply saddened by the news of the tragic events that resulted in the assassination of Haitian President J. Moise and his wife.

We see in what happened the consequence of an internal conflict that has been going on for a long time, outbursts of violence, rampant criminality in this country, ”says the official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, in the commentary.

The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes that the inhabitants of Haiti will be able to overcome a difficult period in the life of the country "through an inclusive political dialogue within the framework of the domestic and international legal field."

White House chief Joe Biden condemned the assassination of the Haitian president.

The American president expressed his condolences to the people of Haiti, as well as his willingness to "work for the security" of the republic.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson commented on the news of the death of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

“I am shocked and saddened by the death of President Moise.

We offer our condolences to his family and the people of Haiti.

This is a disgusting act, I urge you to be calm now, ”Johnson wrote on his Twitter.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on the citizens of Haiti to "maintain constitutional order and unity in the face of this heinous act and renounce all violence."

“The perpetrators of this crime must be brought to justice.

The Secretary General expresses his deepest condolences to the people and government of Haiti, as well as to the president's family, ”TASS quotes the words of Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarrik.