Haiti's future uncertain after brazen slaying of president
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - An already struggling and chaotic Haiti stumbled into an uncertain future Thursday, reeling from the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse followed by a reported gunbattle in which authorities said police killed four suspects in the murder, detained two others and freed three officers being held hostage.
Officials pledged to find all those responsible for the predawn raid on Moïse´s house early Wednesday that left the president shot to death and his wife, Martine Moïse, critically wounded. She was flown to Miami for treatment.
"The pursuit of the mercenaries continues," Léon Charles, director of Haiti´s National Police, said Wednesday night in announcing the arrests of suspects. "Their fate is fixed: They will fall in the fighting or will be arrested."
Officials did not provide any details on the suspects, including their ages, names or nationalities, nor did they address a motive or what led police to the suspects. They said only that the attack condemned by Haiti's main opposition parties and the international community was carried out by "a highly trained and heavily armed group" whose members spoke Spanish or English.
Prime Minister Claude Joseph assumed leadership of Haiti with help of police and the military and decreed a two-week state of siege following Moïse's killing, which stunned a nation grappling with some of the Western Hemisphere´s highest poverty, violence and political instability.
Inflation and gang violence are spiraling upward as food and fuel becomes scarcer, while 60% of Haitian workers earn less than $2 a day. The increasingly dire situation comes as Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 following a history of dictatorship and political upheaval.
Soldiers patrol in Petion Ville, the neighborhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, and first lady Martine Moïse was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalized, according to a statement from the country's interim prime minister. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Those in Haiti and family and friends living abroad wondered what is next.
"There is this void now, and they are scared about what will happen to their loved ones," said Marlene Bastien, executive director of Family Action Network Movement, a group that helps people in Miami´s Little Haiti community.
She said it was important for the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to take a much more active role in supporting attempts at national dialogue in Haiti with the aim of holding free, fair and credible elections.
Bastien said she also wants to see participation of the extensive Haitian diaspora: "No more band-aids. The Haitian people have been crying and suffering for too long."
Haiti had grown increasingly unstable under Moïse, who had been ruling by decree for more than a year and faced violent protests as critics accused him of trying to amass more power while the opposition demanded he step down.
According to Haiti´s constitution, Moïse should be replaced by the president of Haiti´s Supreme Court, but the chief justice died in recent days from COVID-19, leaving open the question of who might rightfully succeed to the office.
Joseph, meanwhile, was supposed to be replaced by Ariel Henry, who had been named prime minister by Moïse a day before the assassination.
Henry told The Associated Press in a brief interview that he is the prime minister, calling it an exceptional and confusing situation. In another interview with Radio Zenith, he said there was no fight between him and Joseph: "I only disagree with the fact that people have taken hasty decisions ... when the moment demands a little more serenity and maturity."
Moïse had faced large protests in recent months that turned violent as opposition leaders and their supporters rejected his plans to hold a constitutional referendum with proposals that would strengthen the presidency.
Hours after the assassination, public transportation and street vendors remained largely scarce, an unusual sight for the normally bustling streets of Port-au-Prince. Gunfire rang out intermittently across the city, a grim reminder of the growing power of gangs that displaced more than 14,700 people last month alone as they torched and ransacked homes in a fight over territory.
Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, said gangs were a force to contend with and it isn´t certain Haiti´s security forces can enforce a state of siege.
"It´s a really explosive situation," he said, adding that foreign intervention with a U.N.-type military presence is a possibility. "Whether Claude Joseph manages to stay in power is a huge question. It will be very difficult to do so if he doesn´t create a government of national unity."
Joseph told The Associated Press that he supports an international investigation into the assassination and believes elections scheduled for later this year should be held as he promised to work with Moïse´s allies and opponents alike.
"Everything is under control," he said.
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Associated Press writer Evens Sanon reported this story in Port-au-Prince and AP writer Danica Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. AP writer Joshua Goodman in Miami contributed to this report.
FILE - In this Feb. 7, 2020, file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sources say Moise was assassinated at home, first lady hospitalized amid political instability. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
Journalists gather near a mural featuring Haitian President Jovenel Moise, near the leader's residence where he was killed by gunmen in the early morning hours, and his wife was wounded, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, confirmed the killing and said the police and military were in control of security in Haiti. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
An ambulance carrying the body of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise drives past a mural featuring him near the leader's residence where he was killed by gunmen in the early morning in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, confirmed the killing and said the police and military were in control of security in Haiti. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Presidential guards patrol the entrance to the residence of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, and first lady Martine Moïse was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalized, according to a statement from the country's interim prime minister. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Martine Moise, first lady of Haiti, arrives at Jackson Health System's Ryder Trauma Center, in Miami, for treatment, Wednesday, July 7, 2021, after being shot multiple times at her home earlier in the day in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Her husband, Haitian President Jovenel Moise, was assassinated at their home. (Carl Juste/Miami Herald via AP)
Children walk on an empty street in front of the cathedral that was destroyed by the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Haiti's President Jovenel Moise has been assassinated by gunmen in his home early Wednesday. His wife was wounded in the attack. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Security forces investigate the perimeters of the residence of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Gunmen assassinated Moise and wounded his wife in their home early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
A bystander points to a vehicle, perforated with bullets holes, parked outside the residence of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Gunmen assassinated Moise and wounded his wife in their home early Wednesday. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
A forensic investigator carries a bagful of bullet casings collected at the residence of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, near the leader's residence where he was killed by gunmen in the early morning hours, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
People walk past military vehicles blocking the entrance to Petion Ville, the neighborhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse was assassinated in an attack on his private residence early Wednesday, and first lady Martine Moïse was shot in the overnight attack and hospitalized, according to a statement from the country's interim prime minister. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
FILE - In this Aug. 28, 2019, file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview in his office in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, the country's interim prime minister said in a statement Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse's wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalized, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
FILE - In this May 23, 2018, file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, left, and First Lady Martine Moise, in red, receive Spain's Queen Letizia Ortiz at the national Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, May 23, 2018. Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, the country's interim prime minister said in a statement Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse's wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalized, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2018, file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise addresses the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, at U.N. headquarters in New York. Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, the country's interim prime minister said in a statement Wednesday, July 7, 2021. Moïse's wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalized, interim Premier Claude Joseph said. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - In this April 7, 2018, file photo, Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, center, leaves the museum during a ceremony marking the 215th anniversary of revolutionary hero Toussaint Louverture's death, at the National Pantheon museum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Moïse was assassinated after a group of unidentified people attacked his private residence, the country's interim prime minister said in a statement Wednesday, July 7, 2021. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, File)
