Iran Press/America: At around 1 A.M on Wednesday, July 7, a group of unidentified people, including some speaking Spanish, attacked the president's private residence, mortally wounding the head of state. The First Lady suffered bullet injuries and was in the hospital, said a statement released by Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph’s office.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph now is in charge of the country.
Condemning the “inhumane and barbaric act,” Joseph called for calm, saying the police and the country’s armed forces had taken control of the security situation.
Haiti's economic, political and social woes have deepened recently, with gang violence spiking heavily in the capital of Port-au-Prince, inflation spiraling and food and fuel becoming scarcer at times in a country where 60% of the population makes less than $2 a day.
These troubles come as Haiti still tries to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew that struck in 2016.
Moise, who was 53, had been ruling by decree for more than two years after the country failed to hold elections, which led to Parliament being dissolved.
Opposition leaders have accused him 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 demanded he steps down, arguing that his term legally ended in February 2021.
Moise and supporters maintained that his term began when he took office in early 2017, following a chaotic election that forced the appointment of a provisional president to serve during a year-long gap.
Haiti was scheduled to hold general elections later this year.
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Haiti president escapes assassination attempt
