The United States and the representative of the Haitian government OneDope was asked to defend places of strategic importance in the aftermath of the assassination of President Joanel Moss. “We made this request during a conversation with the US Secretary of State and the United Nations,” said Matthias Pierre, the minister in charge of electoral affairs. Troops should be used to protect ports and airports.
The UN said it had received a request that it be investigated. Political and Peace Structure Department spokesman Jose Luis Diaz said. “Sending troops would be the job of a Security Council,” he said.
However, it appears that the United States has already rejected the request. No plans Haiti To provide military assistance “at this point,” said a senior U.S. government official. So far, the FBI has only planned to send investigators to support the murder investigation.
20 arrests
Moss, a 53-year-old head of state, was attacked and shot dead at his home on Wednesday night. His wife Martin was seriously injured. She will be United States Treatment. According to Haitian police, 28 foreign mercenaries committed the murder: 26 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian descent. So far, 20 suspects have been arrested and three have been killed. The background to the truth is not clear.
Internationally, the attack sparked fears that the Caribbean government, marked by instability and poverty, would be pushed further into violence. Moss, who has been in office since 2017, is very unpopular. He was subject to corruption, association with brutal gangs and authoritarian tendencies.
Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections in February, as Moss’ term has been postponed. Demonstrations have paralyzed Haiti again over the past three years. Most recently, bloody battles between gangs to control the Port-au-Prince area of the capital have displaced thousands of people.
The Rump Senate elects an interim head of state
Meanwhile, the Haitian Senate has chosen its former president, Joseph Lambert, as the interim heir to the assassinated presidency. “I express my heartfelt gratitude to the political institutions that support me,” Lambert wrote Twitter. He wants to pave the way for a democratic transition of power. Presidential and parliamentary elections are set to take place in Haiti in September.
However, the upper house of the Haitian parliament, Senate 2020, has not had a quorum since January. So it is not clear whether Lambert can actually take office. A parliamentary election scheduled for October 2019 was canceled due to violent protests against Moss, with only 10 of the 30 senators whose terms have not expired. No one sat in the house under the Chamber of Deputies. According to media reports, eight out of ten senators voted for Lambert, while two voted against.
Earlier, several political actors in the Caribbean state, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, acknowledged Lambert as interim head of state on Friday. This is evident from the letter signed by representatives of several parties and movements – including the conservative PHTK, of which Moss was a member. However, the signatures of some important forces are also missing.
Who is the head of government?
Neurosurgeon Ariel Henry is the interim prime minister and thus head of government. Moss had appointed him to the office on Monday. Henry’s inauguration, scheduled for Wednesday, was canceled after the attack.
Foreign Minister and former caretaker Prime Minister Claude Joseph, meanwhile, has announced he will head the caretaker government. As such, he has delivered speeches to the nation over the past few days, signed decrees and held talks with representatives of foreign governments. In an interview with the Haitian newspaper “Le Noveliste” Henry thought he was prime minister – not Joseph.
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