Haitian President assassinated (2 Viewers)

[Sinn Fein]

President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti was assassinated in an attack in the early hours of Wednesday at his home on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the prime minister said.

Mr. Moïse’s wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot in the attack, Prime Minister Claude Joseph said in a statement. Her condition was not immediately clear.

“A group of unidentified individuals, some of them speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the president of the republic and thus fatally wounded the head of state,” the prime minister said. “The country’s security situation is under the control of the Haitian police and the armed forces of Haiti,” he added, saying that all measures were being taken to protect the nation.

The news rocked the impoverished Caribbean island nation 675 miles southeast of Miami. Haiti has a long history of dictatorships and coups, and democracy has never fully taken root.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Such a challenging place. I've got friends closely associated with Haiti and I've been a few times. The challenges are staggering. 

The people I know there have been more concerned than ever the last few weeks as unrest built. Most of it seemed directed at the President and his not stepping down at the end of his term and his efforts to change the constitution. It's unclear on what effect this murder will have on that. I don't know much about the next people in line. 

Praying for peace there. The Haitian people I've worked with there are incredible and resourceful. 

 

[supermike80]

Anyone got some insight into this?  Not really up oh Haitian politics....What's going on down there?

 

[Joe Bryant]

I don't know any more than this. But the unrest described fits exactly with the people I know there. Haiti is always a little bit nervous. But the last month has been way worse.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/world/americas/haiti-president-killed.html
 

By Marc Santora and Catherine Porter

July 7, 2021, 6:38 a.m. ET

President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti was assassinated in an attack in the early hours of Wednesday at his home on the outskirts of the capital, Port-au-Prince, the prime minister said.

Mr. Moïse’s wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot in the attack, Prime Minister Claude Joseph said in a statement. Her condition was not immediately clear.

“A group of unidentified individuals, some of them speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the president of the republic and thus fatally wounded the head of state,” the prime minister said.

Mr. Joseph said in a telephone interview that he was the one running the country at the moment.

The news rocked the impoverished Caribbean island nation 675 miles southeast of Miami. Haiti has a long history of dictatorships and coups, and democracy has never fully taken root.

In recent months, the streets of Haiti have become clogged with angry protests demanding the removal of Mr. Moïse. He had clung to power, ruling by decree for more than a year, with many — including constitutional scholars and legal experts — believing that his term had expired.

Since a devastating earthquake 11 years ago, the country has not rebuilt, and many say it is worse off, despite billions of dollars of reconstruction aid. Armed gangs control the streets and have taken to kidnapping even schoolchildren and church pastors in the middle of their services. Poverty and hunger are on the rise, and the government has been accused of enriching itself while not providing even the most basic services.

Mr. Joseph said that the president had been “cowardly assassinated,” but that the murderers “cannot assassinate his ideas.”

He called on the country to “stay calm” and said he would address the nation on Wednesday. He said the country’s security situation was under the control of the police and the army.

But international observers warned that the situation could quickly spiral out of control.

Didier le Bret, the former French ambassador to Haiti, told France 24 that the political situation was volatile. A new prime minister, Ariel Henry, was scheduled to be sworn into office on Wednesday. Because that had not happened, it was not clear who was running the country, he said.

“It is a big question mark,” he said, warning that the situation could lead to wider violence.

 

[sho nuff]

Such a challenging place. I've got friends closely associated with Haiti and I've been a few times. The challenges are staggering. 

The people I know there have been more concerned than ever the last few weeks as unrest built. Most of it seemed directed at the President and his not stepping down at the end of his term and his efforts to change the constitution. It's unclear on what effect this murder will have on that. I don't know much about the next people in line. 

Praying for peace there. The Haitian people I've worked with there are incredible and resourceful. 

Definitely…a place stung by corruption and natural disaster.  We have had a sister parish there with our church and done missions for years…they have definitely struggled without that mission in the last year+.   Some amazing people have come visit us and the stories of the mission trips (including being tear gassed a few trips back).   And a people who are incredibly resilient and keep bouncing back after bad things happen.  

 

[Osaurus]

Awful, but not unexpected due to their ongoing strife.

 

[Don Quixote]

Anyone got some insight into this?  Not really up oh Haitian politics....What's going on down there?

There has been dispute as to whether his term ended earlier this year or not. There was supposed to be a constitutional referendum in June that was postponed.  Big flare-up in gang violence. This Reuters article from a couple of weeks ago might be a good place to start: https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/haiti-moves-constitutional-referendum-september-2021-06-29/  Has some links to other articles about the violence lately.

 

[FairWarning]

Such a challenging place. I've got friends closely associated with Haiti and I've been a few times. The challenges are staggering. 

The people I know there have been more concerned than ever the last few weeks as unrest built. Most of it seemed directed at the President and his not stepping down at the end of his term and his efforts to change the constitution. It's unclear on what effect this murder will have on that. I don't know much about the next people in line. 

Praying for peace there. The Haitian people I've worked with there are incredible and resourceful. 

They are resourceful, they have dealt with tragedy as long as I can remember.  It’s either unstable government or hurricanes.  
 

for those who can get Dominican TV and can understand Spanish, Channel 11 from the DR is covering it.

 

[timschochet]

I’ve tried to read about Haitian politics over the years and it’s always been a jumbled mess going back over 200 years. There never seems to be any stability there. 
 

 

[Sand]

They are resourceful, they have dealt with tragedy as long as I can remember.  It’s either unstable government or hurricanes.  
 

for those who can get Dominican TV and can understand Spanish, Channel 11 from the DR is covering it.

I've always found it amazing how Haiti and DR can share the same island, but one is a basket case and the other relatively stable.

----

ETA:  So now we're getting out of Afghanistan - de-engagement.  Do we send troops in to stabilize Haiti or keep our hands out of it?

 

[ekbeats]

ETA:  So now we're getting out of Afghanistan - de-engagement.  Do we send troops in to stabilize Haiti or keep our hands out of it?

We’ve got enough problems in our own country to address.  The only time we should be deploying troops is when our vital national interests are at stake, and this doesn’t qualify.

 

[Dennis Castro]

So are shaved heads especially popular in Haiti? Most of the dudes I’ve seen in the footage coming out of there seem to be sporting that look. 

 

[The General]

US citizen is the main suspect. In custody.

 

[Sammy3469]

US citizen is the main suspect. In custody.

CNN seems to have a pretty good write-up.  A whole bunch of ex-Colombian military seem to be involved.  I've probably watched too much Narcos, but the Colombian angle would seem to involve drug trafficking in some manner.  

https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/09/americas/haiti-moise-assassination-july-9-intl-hnk/index.html