Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse. Photograph: Andrés Martínez Casares (Reuters 2021)
At 1 AM on July 7th, shots rang out in the private residence of Jovenel Moïse, president of Haiti, killing him and injuring his wife. 24 heavily armed mercenaries were recruited from overseas and entered the president’s residence under the guise of being the D.E.A. (Drug Enforcement Administration) (Diaz 2021). As of the time when this article was written, 20 people have been detained, with two Americans from Florida of Haitian descent amongst them. Some of those who have been arrested received US military training while in the Columbian military (Reuters 2021). Was there a motivation behind this assassination or was the president of Haiti killed in cold blood?
Haiti, a country located in the Caribbean, is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere ranked 169 out of 189 on the Human Development Index. For decades, the country has suffered from political instability and poverty (BBC 2016). With poor infrastructure and chronic budget shortages, systems are often corrupt and poorly managed, particularly the justice and corrections sectors. The weak justice sector means that Haiti is able to transfer drugs like cocaine and marijuana from South American countries and Jamaica to the United States (U.S. Department of State 2021). On top of this, events like the 2010 earthquake and subsequent cholera outbreak (which caused 10,000 deaths), and COVID-19 also worsened social conditions (Dufour 2021), in part due to poor healthcare infrastructure.
The 2010 Haitian earthquake had devastating effects on the country. Photograph: Gregory Bull (AP 2010)
Jovenel Moïse’s presidency was not without controversy. The November 2016 election saw him poll 55.67% of the vote, with the previous year’s poll annulled following allegations of widespread fraud (BBC 2016). As president, he was seen as increasingly authoritarian, wanting to hold a referendum to increase presidential power, stating that the country was currently ungovernable. He also dismissed the parliament in January 2020, leaving the country with no functioning government (Dufour 2021). Recently, the opposition has claimed that his term expired on February 7, 2021, and his refusal to leave office caused protests in February. Moïse retaliated by allowing police and armed gangs to attack these protests, while also expanding the definition of terrorism to include fires and roadblocks (Dufour 2021).
After the death of Jovenel Moïse, the interim prime minister, Claude Joseph assumed the role of President of Haiti from July 7 until July 19, after the Core Group released a joint statement calling for the creation of “a consensual and inclusive government.” They also “strongly [encouraged] the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government (Coto, 2021).” Global Affairs Canada said that “Canada was working with the interim government as well as Ariel Henry, the prime minister-designate, and other factors:”
“Canada has a deep and long-standing commitment to Haiti,
and we want t0 continue to strengthen our efforts to improve the lives of the Haitian people.”
- Global Affairs Canada (Danica 2021)
Currently, Haiti has no functioning parliament, and Haiti’s chief justice died of COVID-19 last month, further complicating the investigation into the assassination (Reuters 2021).
Definitions
Core Group - ambassadors to Haiti from Canada, Germany, Brazil, Spain, US, France, EU, UN, and Organization of American States
Global Affairs Canada - the department of the Government of Canada that manages Canada's diplomatic and consular relations, encourages Canadian international trade, and leads Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance (Government of Canada 2021)
Works Cited
BBC. “Haiti Presidential Election 'Won by Jovenel Moise'.” BBC News, BBC, 29 Nov. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-38140316.
Coto, Danica. “Key Diplomats, Including from Canada, Support Haiti's Designated PM, Snub Interim Leader | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio Canada, 17 July 2021, www.cbc.ca/news/politics/core-group-ariel-henry-support-1.6106993.
Diaz, Johnny. “Assassination in Haiti: What We Know, and Don't Know.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/08/world/americas/haiti-president-killed.html.
Dufour, Richard. “Mass Protests in Haiti against President's Authoritarian Power Grab.” World Socialist Web Site, 17 Feb. 2021, www.wsws.org/en/articles/2021/02/18/hait-f18.html.
Government of Canada. “Global Affairs Canada.” GAC, Government of Canada, 5 July 2021, www.international.gc.ca/global-affairs-affaires-mondiales/home-accueil.aspx?lang=eng.
Reuters. “Five Things to Know about the Bizarre Situation in Haiti.” Nationalpost, National Post, 16 July 2021, https://nationalpost.com/news/world/five-things-to-know-about-the-bizarre-situation-in-haiti.
U.S. Department of State. “Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: Haiti Summary - United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 3 Feb. 2021, www.state.gov/bureau-of-international-narcotics-and-law-enforcement-affairs-work-by-country/haiti-summary/.