Haitian President Jovenel Moise has been assassinated at his home during the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Prime Minister Claude Joseph disclosed this in a press release, which was published by several news outlets, that Moise’s residence was attacked at around 1 am on Wednesday by “a group of unidentified individuals.
It comes after Mr Moise claimed in February that another assassination plot was prevented by police. “There was an attempt on my life,” he said during a national address.
Mr Moise was said to have been killed after a group of “unidentified” individuals, some speaking Spanish, broke into the home in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince. Mr Moise’s government has faced calls to stand down in recent months.
The president was killed in the attack, while First Lady Martine Moise was also shot and injured and is currently in hospital receiving treatment.
The 53-year-old was “mortally wounded” while his wife First Lady Martine is said to have been injured by multiple gunshot wounds and taken to hospital, The Guardian asserts.
The Caribbean country has been suffering a political crisis in recent months with hundreds marching through Port-au-Prince in February calling for the end of the current government.
The nation has long been flawed by poverty and political instability and struggled to rebuild after earthquakes in recent years.
The Moise administration has been accused of financial impropriety over the President’s decision to axe fuel subsidies. Last year, Mr Moise denied allegations of corruption and suggested he was turning the country into a dictatorship.
“We’re trying to find a solution to this crisis. I’m not the first president to rule by decree. And I’m confident that the answer is around the corner; then the legislature will be put in place to play its role,” Moise The Daily Telegraph.
He had been ruling Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree, after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed in the wake of disputes, including on when his own term ends. Kidnappings for ransom have also surged recently, according to reports, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs.
According to Reuters, Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said “the police and army had the security situation under control but gunshots could be heard throughout the capital after the attack, which occurred amid a rising wave of politically linked violence in the impoverished Caribbean nation.”
“With Haiti politically divided, and facing a growing humanitarian crisis and shortages of food, there are fears of widespread disorder. The Dominican Republic said it was closing the border it shares with Haiti on the island of Hispaniola.” He concluded
