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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Gunmen assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse & wounded his wife in their home early Wednesday, inflicting more chaos on the unstable Caribbean country that was already enduring an escalation of gang violence, anti-government protests & a recent surge in coronavirus infections.
Claude Joseph, the interim prime minister, confirmed the killing & said the police & military were in control of security in Haiti, where a history of dictatorship & political upheaval have long stymied the consolidation of democratic rule.
While the streets of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, were quiet Wednesday morning, some people ransacked businesses in one area. Authorities closed the international airport & declared a “state of siege.” The country appeared to be heading for fresh volatility ahead of planned general elections later this year. Moïse, 53, had been ruling by decree for more than a year after the country failed to hold elections & the opposition demanded he step down in recent months.
Joseph is likely to lead Haiti for now, though that could change in a nation where constitutional provisions have been erratically observed.
Former President Michel Martelly, whom Moïse succeeded, said he was praying for first lady Martine Moïse, calling the assassination “a hard blow for our country & for Haitian democracy, which is struggling to find its way.”
Joseph said Martine Moïse, 47, was shot & in a hospital. He condemned the president’s killing as a “hateful, inhumane & barbaric act.”
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