Government in shock over assassination of Haiti's president

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago has joined other Caricom countries in expressing shock and outrage over the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse early on Wednesday.

An Associated Press (AP) report said Moïse was killed in a gun attack on his private residence and his wife Martine was injured.

"The Government of TT is shocked at the tragic developments in Haiti with the assassination of the President of Haiti, earlier this morning," read a statement posted by the Office of the Prime Minister.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the family of President Moïse and to the Government and People of Haiti, our brothers and sisters in the Caribbean Community (Caricom) on this most distressing occurrence.

"TT pledges to work together with our Caricom colleagues and other hemispheric and international partners to support Haiti at this very difficult time.

Dr Rowley stepped down as chairman of Caricom only days ago.

Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world, has has a troubled political past and its elections are frequently tainted by violence.

An AP report said even before the assassination, Haiti had grown increasingly unstable and disgruntled under Moïse. The president ruled by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections and the opposition demanded he step down in recent months.

The White House described the attack as “horrific” and “tragic” and said it was still gathering information on what happened.

AP said Haiti's economic, political and social woes have deepened recently, with gang violence spiking heavily in Port-au-Prince, inflation spiralling and food and fuel becoming scarcer at times in a country where 60 per cent of the population makes less than US$2 a day. These troubles come as Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew that struck in 2016.

The report said Opposition leaders accused Moïse, 53, of seeking to increase his power, including approving a decree that limited the powers of a court that audits government contracts and another that created an intelligence agency that answers only to the president.

In recent months, opposition leaders have argued that his term legally ended in February 2021. Moïse and supporters maintained that his term began when he took office in early 2017, after a chaotic election that forced the appointment of a provisional president to serve during a year-long gap, the report said.

Haiti was scheduled to hold a general election later this year.