Haiti in upheaval: President assassinated in his home
The attackers raided the private compound of Haiti’s president before dawn, yelling, “DEA operation!” and wielding high-caliber weapons. They tied up a maid and houseboy and ransacked Jovenel Moïse’s office and bedroom.
When it was over, Moïse lay sprawled on his bedroom floor. He had been shot in the forehead, chest, hip and stomach, and his left eye was gouged.
By the time the sun rose, the suspects had scattered by car and foot, leaving this country of more than 11 million in shock. People tuned into radio stations, some still in disbelief until gruesome photos began to circulate on social media.
The widow of President Jovenel Moise, Martine Moise, sits with her children Jovelin Moise, left, Joveline Moise, second right, and Jovenel Moise Jr., during a memorial ceremony in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Thursday, July 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
The widow of President Jovenel Moise, Martine Moise, is escorted out at the end of a memorial ceremony in remembrance of her husband, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Thursday, July 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
The widow of President Jovenel Moise, Martine Moise, sits inside a vehicle at the end of ceremony in remembrance of her husband, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, Thursday, July 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
“I’m not saying he was a good person, but he didn’t deserve death,” said a woman named Sandra, who lived across the street from the president’s mansion. She and her son and husband squeezed into a shower in the back of their home when they heard gunshots echoing through the Pelerin neighborhood.
Authorities have said more than 40 suspects have been arrested in the killing, including 18 former Colombian soldiers. Police are still looking for several more suspects they say were involved in the assassination plot, including a former rebel leader and an ex-senator.
Two suspects in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise are brought in to be presented to the media, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, July 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Bystanders look into the window of a police vehicle transporting the bodies of two people killed in a shootout with police, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, July 8, 2021. According to Police Chief Leon Charles, the two are suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Supporters of former Sen. Steven Benoit shout for justice outside the courthouse as Benoit departs after being called in for questioning regarding the assassination of the country’s president, in Port-au-Prince, Monday, July 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Former Sen. Steven Benoit acknowledges supporters outside a courthouse as he departs after being called in for questioning regarding the assasination of the country’s president, in Port-au-Prince, Monday, July 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
A man looks through the closed gate at the border with Haiti in Jimani, Dominican Republic, Thursday, July 8, 2021. Dominican Republic President Luís Abinader ordered the closure of the border on Wednesday, after Haiti's government reported that a team of gunmen had assassinated President Jovenel Moise. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Authorities pose for a group photo in front of the portrait of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise at at the National Pantheon Museum during his memorial service in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Joseph Odelyn)
Moïse’s wife, who was critically wounded in the attack, was treated at a Miami hospital.
On Twitter, she said she still cannot believe that her husband was killed before her eyes “without saying a last word.”
“This pain,” she wrote, “will never pass.”
The funeral for Moïse was briefly interrupted by nearby gunfire and tear gas as well as agitated supporters, causing U.S. and U.N. officials to leave before his widow spoke publicly for the first time since the attack.
“We lost a fight, but we did not lose the war,” she said as she condemned the country’s oligarchs and suggested that Moïse was killed in his pursuit to provide electricity, build roads and make a better life for poor people. She later addressed his killers: “They are here looking at us. They are not even hiding.”
Text from AP News stories, Chaos reigned in wake of Haitian president’s assassination and Power vacuum rattles Haiti in wake of president’s killing, by Danica Coto
Photos by Matias Delacroix, Fernando Llano and Joseph Odelyn
