The President of Haiti, Jovenel Moise has been assassinated at his home at the early hours of Wednesday morning, the nation’s prime minister has announced.
His wife, the First Lady, is also reportedly receiving treatment at the hospital following gunshot injury.
Prime Minister Claude Joseph said in a press release, which was published by several news outlets, that Moise’s residence was attacked at around 1am on Wednesday by “a group of unidentified individuals, some of whom spoke in Spanish.”
The president was killed in the attack, while First Lady Martine Moise was shot and injured and is currently in hospital receiving treatment.
Haitian news outlet Le Louverture identified the assassin as Colombian in a Wednesday report, however the details of the reported assassination are still unclear.
Prime Minister Joseph condemned the assassin’s “odious, inhuman and barbaric act,” and called on Haitians to be calm, claiming that all measures are currently being taken “to guarantee the continuity of the state and protect the nation.”
“Democracy and the Republic will win,” he concluded.
No statements have yet been made on the president’s official social media channels.
The 53-year-old Jovenel Moise, had been in power since February 2017, after his predecessor, Michel Martelly stepped down.
Mr Moise’s time in office was rocked by accusations of corruption and waves of often violent anti-government protests. There were widespread protests in the capital and other cities earlier this year, as people demanded his resignation.
Haiti’s opposition said that Moise’s five-year term should have ended on 7 February 2021, five years to the day since Mr Martelly stepped down. However, Mr Moise, insisted he had one more year to serve as he did not take office until 7 February 2017.
The year-long delay was caused by allegations of electoral fraud which eventually saw the result of the 2015 election being annulled and fresh polls being held, which were won by Mr Moise.
