This week reports have surfaced this week that Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. Moise’s wife, first lady Martine Moise was also shot during the assassination attempt.
Moise was shot and killed in his private home according to reports released Wednesday, sometime after midnight at 1 a.m. Martine Moise was also injured during the attack and was brought to the hospital in Port-au-Prince. It has yet to be determined whether the first lady’s injuries were fatal or not.
Shortly after the assassination, officials are believed to have already closed off the international airport at Port-au-Prince. Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph condemned the murder in a statement, suggesting that some members of the group of assailants spoke Spanish but no other details were disclosed. Joseph also called for calm at this time.
“A group of individuals who have not been identified, some of whom were speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and fatally injured the Head of State,” said Joseph in his statement.
“All measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the State and to protect the Nation. Democracy and the Republic will win out,” added Joseph.
The Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti, has also decided to close off its borders following the assassination of Moise. Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader called his main military commanders to assess the best course of action and ordered the reinforcement of military surveillance and security actions on the border, known for having illegal smuggling of people and goods.
Moise’s assassination comes amid political unrest in the country and in the wider part of the Caribbean. Moise has been the Haitian President since 2017 when Michel Martelly stepped down. Moise’s presidency was also plagued by allegations of corruption and faced anti-government protests that have turned violent.
There have also been widespread protests in Port-au-Prince earlier this year, demanding that Moise resigns from his position. The opposition party has said Moise should have already stepped down in February 2021, five years from the day Martelly left office. However, Moise insisted that he still had one more year to serve his term as he did not officially begin his presidency until 2017.