Haiti’s security forces were locked in a fierce gun battle on Wednesday with assailants who assassinated President Jovenel Moise at his home overnight, plunging the already impoverished, violence-wracked nation deeper into chaos.
Pundits have long predicted that countries economically weakened by the pandemic lockdown would start to fail starting with the weakest. Who will save Haiti now? The UN? The international community? The Dominicans have closed the border but a refugee uptick may occur.
Why the Moïse assassination is Haiti’s worst-case scenario
It’s a shock to a reeling nation. Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was killed in his home by a group of assailants early Wednesday, with the first lady also seriously injured. The murder leaves a power vacuum atop a country battling rampant crime and COVID-19—with no obvious succession plan in place.
The chronically unstable nation was in a fraught position even before the assassination. In addition to the pandemic fallout—with cases rising and the country unable to procure any vaccines—Jason points out that “in the first four months of the year, kidnappings rose 36 percent and homicides 17 percent.” Plus, hurricane season is just beginning, and Haiti is often in the path of major Caribbean storms.