The ‘descent into hell’ in Haiti is approaching after the death of the President

Jovenel Moïse, who was shot dead in front of his family this week, has made many enemies and a handful of friends over the four years he has served as President of Haiti.

So many enemies that a militant group claiming to be an aide to the US Drug Enforment Administration (DEA) seized the presidential palace early Wednesday morning, it is not clear where the guards were. Haitian authorities have ordered him to be questioned about his security.

A video shot by eyewitnesses circulating on the internet appears to show the killers closing the house in the dark in a slow-moving motion. Some of the attackers, traveling in the middle of the traffic, loaded up their rifles and shouted in English “DEA deed” and “don’t shoot”.

Once inside, the assailants repeatedly fired at Moïse and his wife, Martine. The president was beaten 12 times and his left eye was blindfolded, investigating investigator Carl Henry Destin told Le Nouvelliste, a Haitian newspaper. Martine survived the ordeal with serious injuries and was flown to Florida for treatment.

The attacks were criticized in other countries, as well as in Haiti, despite widespread violence. “People are in limbo right now,” said a Port-au-Prince resident. “Whether you love Moïse or you hate him, the same is true: very upset.”

Many of the unanswered questions are: who ordered the execution, and why the defenders seem to have no objection to what is happening in Haiti, which is in serious danger of being killed.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday said the U.S. FBI and defense had been sent to Port au Prince “soon to review how we can help” the Haitian government’s request.

Although carnage is rampant in the Caribbean and oppression is low in Haiti’s history, no President was killed when the group ousted Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam in 1915.

The assassination left Haiti 19 years old with US troops but what Washington did during that time was different. Psaki on Thursday said the presidential election scheduled for this year should go ahead.

In Haiti, government officials have been quick to point out foreign assassins. Police chief Leon Charles on Thursday said 26 of the 28 men being beaten were Colombians and two American Americans from Haiti. Seventy were arrested and three were killed. Some are fleeing. It is not clear why a group of so-called experts have failed to prepare for the flight.

Most people would rather talk about who ordered his death. Moïse, a former banana exporter, staged a series of repressive measures in office, arresting protesters, judging, allowing parliament and mayors to be dissolved without new elections and seeking legal reforms that would dissolve the senate. the second.

Violent street protests erupted in 2018 alleging that Moïse and his officials had abducted millions of people from oil-grabbing oil in Venezuela, which they regularly refuse.

“Moïse had many enemies,” said Laurent Dubois, a Haitian specialist at the University of Virginia. “Someone may think differently. I think this is from where it came from but it’s hard to say if we will really know. ”

The same is true of the challenges that are coming in a country rife with political instability, escalating sectarian violence and extreme poverty. Claude Joseph, Moïse’s sixth minister, promptly moved to cover up the killings, prompting an emergency, holding a press conference and ordering the opening of local airports and businesses after two days of quiet streets. However, Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who was appointed by Moïse two days before his death to take up his post, said he was a legitimate leader.

Legal experts have been stunned: Haiti has two options that could happen if the President dies, there is currently no parliament to approve the nominee and a high court judge – who could be his successor – died of coronavirus last month.

Currently, the US and the United Nations are dealing with Joseph; Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to him Wednesday and State spokesman Ned Price also described Joseph as “prime minister”.

Everyone who has ever taken a job faces a serious challenge. In April, the Catholic Church warned that Haiti was “going down to hell” after seven of its religious leaders were arrested and observers said there had been security breaches since early June as terrorist attacks escalated.

“We want a government that does not have the right to accept negotiations with all possible members of the coalition government,” said Didier Le Bret, France’s former ambassador to Haiti from 2009-13 and is currently working on a consulting firm, ESL & Cross. “No election can be held in Haiti for many months because nothing can be achieved.”

Even before his assassination, Brice Maes, a representative of Unicef, said Haiti was facing a major humanitarian crisis over the years due to military violence, fuel shortages and food shortages and the increasing number of Covid cases. “The number of people in need of emergency assistance is 1.1m,” he said. “We can’t use the southern highway to reach people because gangs are evacuating so we have to use helicopters.”

The world powers seem unwilling to take action. Haiti’s 13-year-old UN mission ended in 2017 unsettled and criticized he said the Security Council’s actions this week were not in their favor. With the US, a traditional judge, on the other hand, some fear Haiti could be embroiled in a violent riot.

“Poor Haitians are poor enough,” said one local businessman. “People are dying, people are starving. People can’t take it no more. Life is very sad. ”