Assassination adds to chaos, violence in Haiti

President Joe Biden called the situation in Haiti “very worrisome,” and White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the U.S. government stands ready to help. A group of heavily armed men broke into Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s home on Wednesday morning, killing him and wounding his wife, Martine Moïse. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph called the assassination “a highly coordinated attack” by a “highly trained” group.

Who was Moïse? The 53-year-old president was a former banana producer who ruled Haiti for more than four years. Moïse took office in February 2017, pledging to fight corruption and create jobs. But critics accused him of growing increasingly authoritarian. He had been ruling by decree for more than a year after Parliament was dissolved. Widespread protests have paralyzed the country, and gangs in the capital of Port-au-Prince have grown more powerful, ransacking houses and driving 15,000 people from their homes last month alone.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Daniel James Devine’s report about botched aid efforts in Haiti after a devastating earthquake in 2010.