Haiti's president assassinated

The future leadership of Haiti is not yet clear, the Haitian ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond told CNN, following the overnight assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Haiti's acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph has assumed leadership of the country in the immediate aftermath of the attack. He has declared a "state of siege" in Haiti, saying he did not want the nation to "plunge into chaos."

Edmond said he doesn't know if there is a timeline or deadline for a formal announcement of succession.

Haiti's president of the Supreme Court would normally be next in line, but that position is currently empty since its holder, René Sylvestre, recently died of Covid-19. His funeral was due to take place Wednesday.

The president of the National Association of Haitian Judges Judge Jean Wilner Morin told CNN that for Joseph to formally replace the president, he would have to be approved by Haiti's parliament. But the parliament is currently partially empty and effectively defunct.

Complicating the line of succession even further, Moise had appointed another prime minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, just two days ago.

Edmond couldn't say if Henry will remain in his role as new prime minister. He also said it's not clear if the presidential and local elections expected to take place in September will go ahead.

Edmond also said he wasn't aware of any specific threat to the president's life ahead of the assassination.

"But what I can refer you to, I can refer you to the last interview he gave in January to in Spanish newspaper, where he said that a lot of people want him killed. For his reforms. That's the only thing I can tell you," he said.

More details: Edmond added Haiti has formally requested assistance from the US and is waiting for a response.

"We've been talking with US authorities about this situation. And it's being considered, I don't know exactly how they are considering it, but we did request formally assistance from the United States, one with the investigation, and secondly with the security situation," he said.

Edmond said the UN Security Council is expected to meet on the situation in Haiti on Thursday.

"Hopefully, the UN will take more bold actions to strengthen our security. Because it's really a problem for us now," he said.  

The United States has again condemned the assassination of President Jovenel Moise and urged Haiti to bring the attackers to justice.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price reiterated the United States’ condemnation of the attack that left the president dead and the first lady injured. 

Price said Secretary of State Antony Blinken was briefed on the assassination and the security situation in Haiti. He added that the Department has been in regular contact with acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph.  

He said the US Ambassador to Haiti Michele Sison has been in regular contact with a range of Haitian officials.

“Secretary Blinken started his day this morning with a comprehensive update on the situation on the ground, including the latest developments as we knew them at the time, the security situation. He was briefed by Ambassador Sison, who at this moment happens to be in Washington,” he said at a press briefing Wednesday.

“He was also on the phone with the DCM (Deputy Chief of Mission) who is on the ground in Haiti right now, DCM Nicole Theriot, as well as other members of his team. So we are prepared to receive additional requests for assistance from Haitian authorities.”

Price called on all political parties, civil society groups, and stakeholders to echo the call for calm from acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph.  

The United States has denied a suggestion the attackers who assassinated President Jovenel Moise were Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said those claims were “absolutely false”.

Earlier, the Haitian Ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond said that video from the scene showed the attackers speaking Spanish and said they presented themselves as Drug and Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agents. 

“I believe they are fake DEA agents,” he told reporters. Edmond added the attackers are believed to be “mercenaries,” referring to them as “well-trained killers.”

Price noted “the Haitian Ambassador himself has dismissed these allegations.”

The attackers who assassinated President Jovenel Moise are believed to be “mercenaries,” Haitian ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond said, referring to them as “well-trained killers.”

He said video from the scene showed them speaking Spanish and said they presented themselves as Drug and Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agents.

“We don't know how they came in,” Edmond said, adding that they did not know if the attackers were still in the country. He said if they have left, it would be via a land border with the Dominican Republic because Haiti would have detected a plane leaving and the airport has been closed since the attack. He said the airport would reopen “once we have this situation under control."

He stressed the importance of the international community’s assistance in carrying out an investigation and also pointed to the need for security, specifically saying that they need armed forces, not local police, to protect their borders.

Edmond added, “If the border was well protected by the armed forces, it would have been difficult, because the national police doesn't have that mission to protect borders." 

The ambassador said he had been in touch with the White House, State Department and his counterpart, the US ambassador to Haiti.

The Dominican Republic’s flight authority has suspended “air operations to and from the Republic of Haiti,” according to a statement from the country’s Civil Aviation Board (JAC) obtained by CNN on Wednesday. 

Following the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, JAC President Marte Piantini ordered that all flights, exempting those of Dominican Republic nationals and diplomatic personnel seeking to return from Haiti, be suspended.

Those passengers “must present identification as proof of their nationality or diplomatic status,” the statement added.

Haitian Times newspaper publisher and journalist Vania Andre, tells CNN she is concerned about the potential of street violence following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.

The Haitian Times is considered an influential newspaper for Haitians living in the US.

In a statement to CNN, Andre said: 

Andre went on to explain the impact the assassination of Moise could have on Haitians living in the US:

"This generation of Haitians in the Diaspora is living in two worlds, where they are confronted with the challenges of being Black in America, championing Black Lives Matter, fighting against gun violence, and impacted by what they see happening with George Flloyd, Breonna Taylor and the countless other black Americans that have died at the hands of police, while also dealing with the persistent political and social problems in Haiti that also have racial and class undertones.  

For a while Haitians in the Diaspora were hopeful about Haiti’s future, especially given the outpouring of support for the country in the wake of the 2010 earthquake. There was a sense that Haiti was going to build back bigger and better. Folks left their corporate jobs and stability in the U.S. to  be a part of that reawakening for Haiti, and sadly the reality has been the complete opposite, and Moise’s assassination is the final nail in the coffin for them. 

This is a generation of change, anyone who had a nonprofit, a business, an idea for initiatives that support sustainability in the country, will now think twice on whether Haiti is worth it."

Bullet holes can be seen on the walls outside the home of assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who was killed during an attack on his private residence early on Wednesday.

Haitian first lady Martine Moise was also shot in the attack and arrangements are being made to move her to a hospital in Florida for treatment.

Prime Minister Claude Joseph said a group of unidentified people stormed Moise's home at around 1 a.m. and fatally wounded the head of state. He described the assassination as a "heinous, inhumane and barbaric act."

Military personnel from the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Defense have been deployed by air, land and water to monitor the border region with Haiti on Wednesday, the defense ministry tells CNN.

The deployment was launched after a meeting involving the Security and National Defense Council, led by the Dominican Republic’s President Luis Abinader.

Arrangements are being made to move the Haitian first lady Martine Moise to a hospital in Miami for treatment, the Haitian ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond said.

The first lady was injured in the attack in which her husband President Jovenel Moise, was assassinated.  

Speaking at a virtual briefing with reporters Wednesday, Edmond described the first lady's condition as stable but critical.

Haiti's prime minister earlier said the first lady was shot in the attack and was receiving "the necessary treatment" for her injuries.