Police stand guard near the private residence of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise after he was shot dead by gunmen with assault rifles, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 7 2021. Picture: REUTERS/ESTAILOVE ST-VAL
Miami’s Local 10 News said the first lady had been taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital in stable but critical condition, with gunshot wounds to her arms and thigh. The UN Security Council, in a statement on Wednesday night, condemned the assassination and called “on all political stakeholders in Haiti to refrain from any acts of violence and any incitement to violence.”
Joseph, the interim prime minister, said he wanted an international investigation. He said the elections should be held as planned and pledged to work with Moise’s allies and opponents alike. Moise had governed by decree since January 2020, when parliamentary terms expired without elections being held. He’d said his five-year term would run until February 2022, while the opposition said his term ended last February.
At a time of mounting challenges across Latin America — the coronavirus, street demonstrations, food insecurity — Haiti hasn’t been a high priority for Washington or other powers, and there is little to suggest that will change soon.