Eva Deschamps / July 8, 2021
President Moïse was killed by an armed commando in the middle of the night at his home. According to interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, the assailants were foreigners who spoke English and Spanish.
The police said Wednesday evening that they had pursued the alleged members of the commando immediately after the attack and that the forces of order continued to carry out in the evening an operation in the heights of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control, said the director general of the Haitian National Police, Leon Charles, in a television address. Three police officers who had been taken hostage were recovered, he added.
No further information on the identity or motives of the perpetrators has been released.
According to the local press, citing the judge in charge of the case, the body of President Moses was found riddled with 12 bullets, and his office and bedroom were ransacked.
According to the Haitian ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, the commando was composed of professional mercenaries who posed as officials of the U.S. anti-drug agency.
The wife of the president, Martine Moïse, injured in the attack which took place around 01:00 local time was evacuated by plane to Miami Wednesday.
The First Lady is out of danger, she is being treated in Florida, and according to the information we have, her situation is stable, Claude Joseph said Wednesday night on television.
This assassination threatens to further destabilize the poorest country in the Americas, already facing a double political and security crisis.
The U.S. State Department has called for Haiti's legislative and presidential elections to be held on September 26, 2021, with a runoff on November 21.
U.S. President Joe Biden condemned the heinous act, saying the U.S. was ready to help the country, and the European Union expressed concern about a spiral of violence.