Four alleged murderers of Haitian President Jovenel Moise were killed by police and two others were arrested on Wednesday, police director general Léon Charles announced.
The operation also freed three police officers who had been kidnapped by the alleged perpetrators of the assassination, according to the police chief in an appearance next to the interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, and other authorities.
The alleged killers were intercepted by the police after an intense shootout in the Pelerin sector, where Moise’s residence is located, “shortly before 6 pm,” according to the Secretary of State for Communication, Frantz Exantus, through Twitter.
At the hearing, Culture and Communication Minister Pradel Henriquez reiterated that the attackers are foreigners who speak Spanish and English, but did not provide details about their nationality or identity.
Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph stressed that the country’s security situation is “under control” after Moise’s assassination.
He also reported that the forensic report on Moise’s death was made and his body was later transferred to a morgue in the capital.
Regarding the state of health of the first lady, Martine Moise, also injured in the attack, said that she is “out of danger” after being transferred to a hospital in Miami, (United States).
Joseph also reported that he had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, with whom he discussed the political situation in the country.
In particular, they discussed the organisation of the presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for 26 September, and the opposition.
“Fortunately, many sectors in the opposition condemned the murder,” said Joseph, who hours earlier had expressly asked the opposition to join in the revulsion of the assassination.
President Moise was shot dead in the early hours of last night during a raid by a commando of armed men on his residence, an attack in which his wife Martine was also wounded.
