The early-morning assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse rattled the Caribbean region yesterday, with concerns mounting in The Bahamas over the possible ramifications of increased political instability in the already troubled neighboring country.
Leaders across the globe reacted with horror at the news that the president had been brutally murdered at his home, located in a prominent neighborhood on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
Moïse’s wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot and injured during the attack by a group of men who appeared to be foreigners, according to reports.
She was flown out of the country to Miami for further medical treatment.
Haiti’s borders and its international airport were closed and martial law was declared in the aftermath of the event.
The Dominican Republic also closed its border with Haiti in light of the assassination.
The Bahamas’ borders have been closed to travelers from Haiti since earlier this year, with the government citing concerns over COVID-19 and the low level of vaccination in Haiti.
The Bahamian embassy in Port-au-Prince was closed yesterday morning, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren Henfield, who assured that the four Bahamian diplomats in the country were all safe.
Prime Minister Dr. Hubert Minnis was among those leaders who condemned the assassination.
“The government of The Bahamas is deeply saddened by these developments and strongly condemns the actions of the perpetrators,” Minnis said.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the government and the people of Haiti.”
Minnis said he had been in contact with CARICOM Chairman Gaston Browne.
“We pray for the people of Haiti and for a peaceful resolution to the political crisis,” Minnis said.
Implications
With tens of thousands of Haitians migrating to The Bahamas in recent decades, many of them fleeing poverty, the two countries have deep cultural ties.
The ceaseless flow of poor migrants has bred contempt and resentment among many in The Bahamas, who view irregular immigration as one of the most pressing issues facing the country.
Henfield said yesterday that Moïse’s assassination will undoubtedly have implications in The Bahamas.
“Civil unrest in Haiti always invariably impacts on The Bahamas,” he said.
“We know the issues that we have in the maritime domain and space with irregular migration. And so, of course, we are going to take all of the necessary security steps that we need to take to secure the Bahamian borders.”
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Leader Philip Brave Davis yesterday extended condolences on behalf of the party.
“We are shocked by this heinous act of violence and offer to the government and people of Haiti our prayers and support during this difficult time,” he said.
In an interview with The Nassau Guardian, Davis also expressed concern over the potential impacts on The Bahamas, as he urged the government to work with regional leaders to help provide stability in Haiti.
“With the instability, violence and now this tragic event where the head of state is assassinated, it clearly ought to inform serious concerns for us here in The Bahamas and perhaps other parts of our region,” Davis said.
“…Instability, insurrection, the violence of the nature that we are seeing, informs the view of the Haitian populace to want to leave. And the unfortunate flight of any departure from Haiti has The Bahamas clearly in its focus.
“And we are troubled and we are tried as well as it is with irregular migration.
“And we have to be empathetic to what’s going on and we need to try as a nation, and perhaps as a government, to collaborate with our regional partners to see how we can bring some stability to the country.”
Davis added, “Our borders will no doubt be compromised and continue to be as a result of the insurgence of violence and instability in Haiti.
“Those are my particular concerns.
“I trust that the government will see the need to engage our partners in the region to see how we could lend a hand to provide stability and economic opportunities for people in Haiti to stem the tide and the flow of irregular migration to countries such as ours.”
Turmoil
Moïse’s assassination came amid increasing political and social turmoil in the impoverished island nation.
Since being sworn in as Haiti’s president in 2017, Moïse has been a controversial figure, facing frequent calls for his resignation over the years in relation to a number of issues, including claims of corruption and a struggling economy.
There was also increasing worry over Moïse’s legitimacy, as he had been ruling by decree for more than a year, as calls for parliamentary elections from both the opposition and the international community continued to mount.
On Tuesday, Moïse nominated neurosurgeon Ariel Henry as Haiti’s new prime minister, instructing him to prepare the country for the elections scheduled for later this year.
Henry was slated to be sworn in yesterday.
However, Claude Joseph, who became interim prime minister in April, following the resignation of the previous prime minister, took charge of the country in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, which he labeled “odious, inhuman and barbaric”.
Henfield called for “calm” and “constitutional law” to prevail in Haiti, as he assured The Bahamas’ support.
“I have been, all morning, really, trying to contact Dr. Claude Joseph, who was the prime minister of Haiti,” Henfield said.
“He has indicated that he is currently in charge of the country.
“I have spoken with the ambassador for Haiti in Washington, Bocchit Edmond, who is a personal friend of mine, and we had discussions about what is going on in Haiti.
“Of course, the situation is quite fluid.
“…We reassured Bocchit Edmond of our support in any way that we can, and we call for calm in Haiti. We call for constitutional law to be observed in Haiti.”
Henfield expressed disappointment over the turn of events.
“We were heartened in CARICOM to know that Haiti had planned to hold elections,” he said.
“They had announced the election for September. And, of course, we are where we are now. We’ve been down this road before.
“In 1995, I personally served as a member of the peacekeeping mission in Haiti, as a member of the CARICOM battalion where we witnessed for the first time and we were proud to do so, under the auspices of the United Nations, the first democratically elected president in Haiti, who, at the time, was René Préval.
“And Haiti has seemed to struggle with the maturation process of democracy.”
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