Haitian president killed in ‘hateful, inhumane and barbaric act’

Haiti’s interim prime minister announced Wednesday Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was killed in an attack at his home overnight.

According to Premier Claude Joseph, First Lady Martine Moïse was sent to the hospital following the attack. Joseph called it a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act.”

The streets were largely empty in Port-au-Prince early Wednesday, but some people ransacked businesses in one area.

Joseph said police have been deployed to the National Palace and the upscale community of Pétionville. They will be sent to other areas as well.

“The country’s security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti,” Joseph said in a statement. “Democracy and the republic will win.”

According to Joseph, some of the attackers spoke in Spanish. Joseph offered no further explanation.

President Joe Biden was asked for his thoughts about the assassination as he was leaving the White House to head to Illinois. “We need a lot more information but it’s very worrisome about the state of Haiti,” President Biden responded.

Haiti had become increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse. Economic, political and social woes deepened, with gang violence spiking heavily in Port-au-Prince, inflation spiraling and food and fuel becoming scarcer at times. 60 percent of the population makes less than $2 a day.

The country is still trying to recover from the a major earthquake back in 2010 and Hurricane Matthew from 2016.

Moïse had been ruling by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections. This led to Parliament being dissolved.

Opposition leaders have accused Moïse of seeking to increase his power, pointing to his approval of a decree that limited the powers of the court that audits government contracts, and another that created an intelligence agency that answers only to the president.

Those leaders demanded Moïse step down, saying his term legally ended this past February. Moïse and supporters said his term began when he took office in early 2017, following a chaotic election in which a provisional president served during a year-long gap.

Haiti was set to hold general elections later this year.