The President of Haiti has been shot dead at his home, it was confirmed today.
Jovenal Moise was killed in a nighttime raid at his property in the capital Port Au Prince by mystery Spanish-speaking gunmen.
A statement from Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, said the deadly attack took place in the early hours of this morning.
“A group of individuals who have not been identified, some of whom were speaking Spanish, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and fatally injured the Head of State," he said.
He added that Haiti's First Lady was also shot but has survived the attack.
He condemned the “odious, inhuman, and barbaric act” and appealed for calm, adding: “All measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the State and to protect the Nation. Democracy and the Republic will win out.”
Read our Jovenal Moise assassination live blog for the latest updates...
Joseph Gamp 12 minutes ago
INSECURITY AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY
The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years.
Joseph was slated to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.
In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to have a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Joseph Gamp 27 minutes ago
HAITI PRESIDENT JOVENEL MOISE ASSASSINATED AFTER GUNMEN STORM HIS PALACE IN DEAD OF NIGHT
Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated after gunmen storm his palace in dead of night
Joseph Gamp 42 minutes ago
PICTURED: SOLDIERS PATROL IN PETION VILLE, THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WHERE HAITIAN PRESIDENT WAS KILLED
Soldiers patrol in Petion Ville, the neighbourhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Joseph Gamp 52 minutes ago
US 'STANDS BY HAITI TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE' SAYS WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY JEN PSAKI
"We stand ready and stand by them to provide any assistance that's needed," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
She added: "Of course our embassy and State Department will be in close touch but it's a tragedy.
"We stand with them and it's important that people of Haiti know that."
Joseph Gamp Today, 13:39
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ORDERS 'IMMEDIATE CLOSURE' OF HAITI BORDER
The government of the Dominican Republic on Wednesday ordered the "immediate closure" of its border with Haiti after the assassination of the president of the neighboring country, Jovenel Moise.
The border closure was effective immediately, the communications officer of the defense ministry, Ceinett Sanchez, told AFP.
Joseph Gamp Today, 13:27
COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT CALLS FOR MISSION TO 'PROTECT THE DEMOCRATIC ORDER' OF HAITI
Colombia President Ivan Duque called on the Organization of American States on Wednesday to send an urgent mission to Haiti to "protect the democratic order" after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated overnight.
"We reject the vile assassination of the Haitian President Jovenel Moise," Duque wrote on Twitter.
"It is a cowardly act full of barbarity against the entire Haitian people."
Joseph Gamp Today, 13:23
BORIS JOHNSON 'SHOCKED AND SADDENED' BY 'ABHORRENT ACT' AND CALLS FOR CALM
Boris Johnson has condemned the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise.
He tweeted: "I am shocked and saddened at the death of President Mo？se.
"Our condolences are with his family and the people of Haiti.
"This is an abhorrent act and I call for calm at this time."
I am shocked and saddened at the death of President Mo？se. Our condolences are with his family and the people of Haiti. This is an abhorrent act and I call for calm at this time.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) July 7, 2021
Joseph Gamp Today, 13:21
KILLING COMES DAYS AFTER MOISE APPOINTED NEW PRIME MINISTER TO REPLACE CLAUDE JOSEPH
The killing comes days after Moise appointed Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who studied in France, as Haiti's new prime minister.
Henry, 71, has been part of Haiti's coronavirus response and previously held posts in the government in 2015 and 2016 as interior minister then social affairs and labor minister.
Moise had tasked Henry with "forming a broad-based government" to "solve the glaring problem of insecurity" and to work toward "the holding of general elections and the referendum."
Henry is close to the opposition, but his appointment was not welcomed by the majority of opposition parties, who had continued to demand the president step down.
Joseph Gamp Today, 13:13
WHITE HOUSE DESCRIBES HAITI ASSASSINATION AS 'HORRIFIC' AND 'TRAGIC'
The White House described the attack as “horrific” and “tragic” and said it was still gathering information on what happened.
President Joe Biden will be briefed later Wednesday by his national security team, spokesperson Jen Psaki said during an interview on MSNBC.
Joseph Gamp Today, 13:11
PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH CALLS FOR CALM
Condemning the “inhumane and barbaric act”, Joseph called for calm, saying the police and the country’s armed forces had taken control of the security situation.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:57
INSECURITY AND POLITICAL INSTABILITY
The president faced steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years.
Joseph was slated to be replaced this week after only three months in the post.
In addition to presidential, legislative and local elections, Haiti was due to have a constitutional referendum in September after it was twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:57
PICTURED: PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH'S OFFICIAL STATEMENT
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:54
FIRST LADY TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AS A RESULT OF INJURIES
Haiti’s first lady, Martine Moise, has been taken to hospital as a result of the attack.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:37
US EMBASSY CLOSED DUE TO 'ONGOING SECURITY SITUATION'
The US Embassy said in a statement it would be closed on Wednesday due to the "ongoing security situation".
The United States had on June 30 condemned what it described as a systematic violation of human rights, fundamental freedoms and attacks on the press in Haiti, urging the government to counter a proliferation of gangs and violence.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader held an emergency meeting early on Wednesday about the situation but had yet to issue a statement
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:32
PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH CONDEMNS 'HATEFUL, INHUMANE AND BARBARIC' ASSASSINATION
Joseph condemned what he called a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act,”
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:29
PRESIDENT MOISE CLAIMED HE STILL HAD ONE YEAR LEFT IN POWER
The country’s leading opposition parties, the judiciary and activist groups said Mr Moise’s five-year term as president ended in February.
But the president claimed he had one year left in office since an interim government ran the country for a year after his election.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:17
HAITI IS STILL RECOVERING FROM DEVASTATING 2010 EARTHQUAKE AND HURRICANE MATTHEW IN 2016
The troubles come as Haiti still tries to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew that struck in 2016.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:15
PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH NOW IN CHARGE FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION
Prime Minister Claude Joseph said he was now in charge of the country.
Condemning the “inhumane and barbaric act”, Joseph called for calm, saying the police and the country’s armed forces had taken control of the security situation.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:11
MOISE CLAIMED HE WAS VICTIM OF BOTCHED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN FEBRUARY
In February, Moise claimed that he was the victim of an assassination plot which had been foiled by Haitian police.
“There was an attempt on my life,” he said at the time in a national address.
“I thank my head of security at the palace. The goal of these people was to make an attempt on my life. That plan was aborted.”
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:09
PRIME MINISTER CLAUDE JOSEPH CALLS FOR CALM
Condemning the “inhumane and barbaric act”, Joseph called for calm, saying the police and the country’s armed forces had taken control of the security situation.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:08
PRESIDENT ASSASSINATED ‘BY FOREIGNERS WHO SPOKE ENGLISH AND SPANISH’
“The president was assassinated at his home by foreigners who spoke English and Spanish,” Prime Minister Joseph said.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:08
HAITI PRESIDENT JOVENEL MOISE ASSASSINATED AFTER GUNMEN STORM HOME IN DEAD OF NIGHT
The President of Haiti has been assassinated, the Interim Prime Minister announced in a statement this morning.
Claude Joseph said that a group of individuals stormed the private residence of President Jovenel Moise and shot him dead in an "inhumane and barbaric act".
It has been reported that the President was killed at his home in the capital of Port-au-Prince at 1am.
Read more on the story here.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:06
FIRST LADY TAKEN TO HOSPITAL AS A RESULT OF INJURIES
Haiti’s first lady, Martine Moise, has been taken to hospital as a result of the attack.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:06
WHAT IS THE CURRENT POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CLIMATE IN HAITI?
The nation of more than 11 million people had grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Mo？se's rule.
Haiti's economic, political and social woes have deepened, with gang violence spiking heavily in the capital of Port-au-Prince, inflation spiralling and food and fuel becoming scarcer at times in a country where 60% of the population makes less than $2 a day.
Joseph Gamp Today, 12:04
WATCH: HAITI PRESIDENT JOVENEL MOISE ASSASSINATED AFTER GUNMEN STORM HIS PALACE IN DEAD OF NIGHT
Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated after gunmen storm his palace in dead of night
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