Haitian President Jovenel Moise assassinated and the first lady was hospitalized

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Haitian businessman Jovenel Moise addresses the public after being declared the official winner of the November 2016 presidential election, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, January 3, 2017.

Jenny Jr. Augustine | Reuters

Haiti’s interim prime minister said in a statement on Wednesday that Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated after an unidentified group attacked his private home.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said First Lady Martin Moyes was hospitalized following the attack late Tuesday.

Joseph condemned what he called “the abhorrent, inhuman and barbaric act,” adding that the Haitian National Police and other authorities are in control of the situation in the Caribbean nation.

The Haitian Embassy in Canada confirmed Moise’s death in a tweet.

The nation of over 11 million people became increasingly unstable and disaffected under Moise’s rule. Its economic, political and social problems have deepened, with gang violence escalating dramatically in the capital, Port-au-Prince, inflation surging and food and fuel sometimes becoming scarcer in a country where 60% of the population earns less than $2 a day. . These problems come as Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew that hit it in 2016.

Moyes, 53, had been ruling by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections, which led to the dissolution of parliament. Opposition leaders accused him of seeking to increase his power, including agreeing to a decree limiting the powers of a court that scrutinizes government contracts and another creating an intelligence service that reports only to the president.

In recent months, opposition leaders have called for him to step down, arguing that his term legally expired in February 2021. Moyes and his supporters asserted that his term began when he took office in early 2017, after chaotic elections forced the appointment of an interim president. For service within a year gap.

Haiti was due to hold a general election later this year.

This story is developing. . Please check back for updates

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