Haiti after the presidential assassination: “It’s a dangerous cocktail”

The assassination of Haitian President Moïse has left the country in a state of shock. Observers fear a power vacuum. The UN Security Council called on all political actors to exercise restraint.

The “alleged murderers” of President Jovenel Moïse are said to have been caught by the police shortly after six last night, less than 20 hours after the murder. “She is still fighting with the attackers,” said police chief Leon Charles in a televised address.

So far, four of the attackers are said to have been killed and two more arrested in the fighting. Much is still unexplained. According to a first message from Joseph Claude, the interim president, the perpetrators are said to have spoken English and Spanish.

“We don’t see any joyful demonstrations”

The news of the murder had sent the country into a state of shock. It is too early to foresee the consequences of the assassination of the president, explains Haitian political scientist and sociologist Wilson Jean Baptiste: “We do not know whether this situation will lead to a solution to the crisis. We see on the streets no happy demonstrations. The outgoing Prime Minister has declared a state of emergency. ”

Haiti is in a risky situation, no one knows what to do next, said Baptiste. “It’s a dangerous cocktail.”

President with gang links?

The violence has escalated in recent months and has displaced thousands of people. Kidnappings are part of everyday life in the capital Port-au-Prince. Criminal gangs fight for their sphere of influence in the city districts.

The opposition repeatedly accused Moïse of having close ties to the gangs and even of using them against the opposition. A recent report by Harvard University with the Haitian Observatory for Crimes Against Humanity also sees this connection.

Wilson Jean Baptiste now fears a power vacuum: “Even if the president was controversial – now there is actually nobody in the National Palace. There is no single functioning institution, the parliament does not work, the judicial system does not work, but we have to find a way somehow.” to define tomorrow’s Haiti. ”

More than 3,000 people have weapons of war

Moïse had ruled by decree for almost two years. In the past four years he has changed the head of government four times. It was only on Monday that he announced the appointment of the new head of government Ariel Henry, who was to replace Claude Joseph after only three months in office.

For the moment, however, Joseph does not seem to want to leave his seat. The biggest problem: there is no unifying personality, says Baptiste. Now there is an urgent need for talks between the various protagonists: “A dialogue between the political, economic and social actors and other areas of civil society – especially in view of the fact that we live in a country in which more than 3,000 armed There are people who have weapons of war. ”

According to information from diplomatic circles, the UN Security Council is dealing with the murder of Haiti’s president in an emergency meeting today. He had previously called on the country’s politics to moderate. Everything should be avoided that would further destabilize the situation. All political forces would have to exercise restraint.