Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated at
his home last night by unknown assailants, according to Prime Minister Dr.
Claude Joseph. Interim Prime Minister Dr. Claude Joseph said in a statement
that First Lady Martine Mose had also been injured and was being hospitalized.
Interim Prime Minister Joseph condemned the "hateful, brutal, and savage
conduct," saying that the situation in Haiti was under control thanks to
the National Police and other authorities.
The killing occurred late Tuesday, amid rising
political and economic stability and an uptick in gang violence. Under Mose's
administration, the country of more than 11 million people had become
increasingly unstable and dissatisfied. Its economic, political, and social
problems have worsened, with gang violence escalating in the capital,
Port-au-Prince, inflation skyrocketing, and food and fuel becoming scarce at
times in a country where 60% of the population lives on less than $2 per day.
These problems arise as Haiti continues to recover from the tragic earthquake
of 2010 and Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
Mose, 53, had been reigning by decree for more than
two years after the country's Parliament was dissolved due to a lack of
elections. Opposition leaders accuse him of attempting to expand his power by
signing decrees that limit the powers of a court that audits government
contracts and another that establishes an intelligence agency that reports only
to the president.
Opposition leaders have requested that he resign in
recent months, claiming that his mandate constitutionally expired in February
2021. Mose and his supporters claimed that his term began when he assumed
office in early 2017, after a tumultuous election that prompted the appointment
of a provisional president to fill the void for a year.
General elections were set to take place in Haiti
later this year.
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