Spanish-speaking mercenaries posing as American drug enforcement officers assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise in his home Wednesday morning in a coordinated attack that left his wife in critical condition and the troubled nation in turmoil.
The attack was confirmed by Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, whose own authority was in question.
Haitian police killed four suspects and hours after the assassination arrested two others.
Late on Wednesday, three Haitian police officers held hostage by the suspected gunmen were freed, said Léon Charles, chief of Haiti’s National Police.
Haitians, already reeling from abject poverty, a devastating earthquake and generations of political corruption, awoke to the news that yet another leader had been displaced, this one with military precision.
Bocchit Edmond, the Haitian ambassador to the United States, said the attack on the 53-year-old Moise “was carried out by foreign mercenaries and professional killers — well-orchestrated,” and that they were masquerading as agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The DEA denied any role in the attack, and said its office in the Hatian capital was there to assist the government in counternarcotics programs, according to the U.S. Embassy.
Haiti’s first lady, Martine Moise, was reported in stable but critical condition. She was flown to an airport in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and from there moved to a hospital in Miami, news reports said.
Joseph, a Moise protege, said police and military were in control of security in the country, where authorities declared a “state of siege” and closed the international airport.
“We need every single one to move the country forward,” Joseph told the Associated Press.
He made reference to Moise’s enemies, calling him ”a man of courage” who had opposed ”some oligarchs in the country.
“We believe those things are not without consequences,” said Joseph, who was only supposed to be prime minister temporarily.
Haiti has asked the U.S. government for assistance with the investigation, he said, adding that the assassins could have escaped over the land border to the Dominican Republic or by sea.
The Dominican Republic said it was closing the border and reinforcing security in the area.
Haiti, a country of more than 11 million people, and the poorest country in the Americas, had grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moise. The 53-year-old leader had been ruling by decree for two years after Haiti failed to hold elections, which has since led to the dissolution of parliament.
In recent months, opposition leaders have demanded that he step down, arguing that his term legally ended in February 2021. The president’s supporters, meanwhile, contend 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.
The United States, whose support is critical for Haiti, has called on the nation to hold a general election as soon as possible. One had been scheduled for later this year.
The volatility has been unsettling for Haitians living abroad including immigrants in pockets of Brooklyn.
Ricot Dupuy, 68, the station manager of Radio Soleil in Flatbush, Brooklyn, said Moise was the latest in a long line of dictators.
“It was shocking news, no doubt,” Dupuy said. “A brutal end to one’s life. I have been feeding calls and I can hear the shock and disbelief in people’s voices, but there’s hope that something good comes from this.”
Pastor Joseph, 62, said he is tired of the violence.
“Everything is a gang, every party of the country has a gang,” the Brooklyn man said. “I call them gangsters. I can’t even go to my country. I would get killed.”
Assemblymember Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, a Haitian-American, said she was praying for security and peace in her home country.
“I am saddened about the horrific events that occurred in Haiti, which follow an unstable period for the country, which failed to hold elections,” Bichotte Hermelyn said. “Haiti has always been resilient. We fought and gained our independence in 1804 and our people continue to break barriers and reach new heights across the globe. My hope is that Haiti will overcome this turbulent time, hold a democratic election and recover as a country.”
With News Wire Services
