Assassins Kill President of Haiti in Midnight Home Invasion

Outgoing Prime Minister of Haiti Claude Joseph confirmed the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in the early hours of Wednesday by suspected foreign mercenaries in an “odious, inhuman, and barbaric act.”

Moïse took over for predecessor Michel Martelly in the aftermath of the chaotic 2015 elections as a placeholder president. Moïse insisted that his term began in 2017, thus making him legitimate president through 2022, but faced opposition who claimed that his term had expired by this year and branded him a dictator. Opposition leaders attempted to install a parallel president, 72-year-old judge Joseph Mécène, in February, but Mécène has not received any international recognition and has not made any significant public pronouncements since allegedly becoming president.

In addition to pressure from opposition leaders to step down, Moïse faced mounting demands from Haitian business leaders to consider establishing relations with China. Haiti is one of the few remaining nations in the world to recognize Taiwan’s sovereignty and maintain close ties to that country. Under the Communist Party’s “One China” policy, Beijing does not maintain any diplomatic relations with countries that recognize Taiwan. In an interview with Taiwan News published Wednesday, Haiti’s ambassador to Taiwan asserted that Moïse valued the bilateral relationship and had no intention of accepting lucrative Chinese loan offers to abandon Haiti’s relationship with Taiwan.

Joseph, the prime minister, was scheduled to soon leave his post after serving three months in office. Moïse announced the appointment of his seventh prime minister, Ariel Henry, on Monday. Joseph congratulated Henry and had not indicated any conflict existed between the two.

“Around one (1) o’clock in the morning, on the night of Tuesday July 6 to Wednesday July 7, 2021, a group of unidentified individuals, some of whom spoke in Spanish, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and thus mortally wounded the Head of State,” Joseph’s statement to the Haitian public read, according to the national outlet Haiti Libre. “Wounded by gunshot, the First Lady is receiving the care that her situation requires.”

Joseph referred to the killing as “odious, inhuman and barbaric” and urged the public to remain calm. The statement also claimed the situation was “under control.” Authorities shut down Port-au-Prince’s international airport to prevent suspects from fleeing and have prevented planes arriving there on flights that left before the assassination from landing.

In addition to First Lady Martine Moïse, one of the president’s children was present for the attack but reportedly uninjured. Moïse was 53 years old.

Joseph assumed the leadership of the country in his statement. Mécène has not made any statements at press time or attempted to assert his claim to the presidency in any way known to the public.