Haiti's President Assassinated
July 7, 2021 11:31 PM Subscribe
Sitting president Jovenel Moise was killed in his home and his wife critically injured. Reports say that a group of heavily armed English and Spanish speaking men posed as DEA agents and entered their private residence. Police claim four assailants have been killed in a shootout.
Previously and previously.
Mercenaries? Weird.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:42 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mr_roboto at 11:42 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]
How many mercs are fresh out of a job in Afghanistan?
Seems a little soon for that kind of fallout, though.
posted by jamjam at 12:17 AM on July 8, 2021
Seems a little soon for that kind of fallout, though.
posted by jamjam at 12:17 AM on July 8, 2021
Given the disgusting treatment and interference that Haiti has suffered over centuries, I can only hope that the "English and Spanish speaking" assassins are in fact the case. NB. Haiti is francophone, although given its treatment by France, I would not be surprised if they were to adopt Mandarin or Sanskrit.
Less hopeful - it was in fact a local gang/criminal group that was being bought by a regional influence.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 12:36 AM on July 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Less hopeful - it was in fact a local gang/criminal group that was being bought by a regional influence.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 12:36 AM on July 8, 2021 [3 favorites]
Some context from a February BBC article on a wave of protests against Moïse:
The cause of the Caribbean nation's fresh unrest is a bitter dispute over Mr Moïse's legitimacy. Haiti's opposition says that Mr Moïse's five-year term should have ended on 7 February 2021, five years to the day since his predecessor in office, Michel Martelly, stepped down. Mr Moïse, however, insists he has one more year to serve as he did not take office until 7 February 2017.From the previous post:
The year-long delay was caused by allegations of electoral fraud which eventually saw the result of the 2015 election being annulled and fresh polls being held, which were won by Mr Moïse.
He has been ruling by decree for the past year after his administration failed to hold scheduled legislative elections in October 2019.
On 7 February, the day his opponents said his term should have ended, he said that a "coup to overthrow his government and assassinate him" had been foiled.
Twenty-three alleged coup-plotters were detained including a senior Supreme Court judge, Ivickel Dabresil. Mr Dabresil had reportedly been chosen by the opposition to act as "provisional president" to replace Mr Moïse.
With Mr Dabresil in detention, the opposition named another Supreme Court judge, Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis, as interim leader.
With Mr Moïse refusing to step down, one Haitian news outlet reported that "Haiti has two presidents". [...]
[Moïse] is also planning to hold a referendum to overhaul Haiti's constitution, which he argues needs to be modernised.
His critics fear that his intention is to get rid of a clause which bans presidents from serving two consecutive terms in office so he can run again for the top job in September.
Protesters are demanding the resignation of current president Jovenel Moise, whose election in 2016 was marred by massive protests regarding irregularities, and whose legitimacy is in question, the election having been widely contested and having a lower than 20% participation rate.From the NYTimes:
Even his critics agree that Mr. Moïse used his power in office to try to end monopolies that offered lucrative contracts to the powerful elite. And that made him enemies.From Global Voices in 2019:
“To some he was a corrupt leader, but to others he was a reformer,” said Leonie Hermantin, a Haitian community leader in Miami. “He was a man who was trying to change the power dynamics, particularly when it came to money and who had control over electricity contracts. The oligarchy was paid billions of dollars to provide electricity to a country that was still in the dark.”
On May 31, 2019, Haiti's High Court of Auditors released a 600 plus-page report as a deeper audit regarding the mismanagement of the PetroCaribe funds. The corruption scandal surrounding PetroCaribe, a regional energy programme orchestrated by Venezuela and intended to provide petroleum products to Haiti under preferential terms, was at the heart of violent protests that threatened to cause President Jovenel Moïse's downfall this past February.posted by trig at 1:03 AM on July 8, 2021 [23 favorites]
The Haitian president is linked to the $3.4 billion PetroCaribe scheme via his own company, Agritrans, and now another — Betexs — which have benefited from the opaque contracts that characterise the scandal.
(Sanskrit??)
posted by trig at 1:07 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by trig at 1:07 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Mostly in Haiti they speak already not French but Haitian Creole.
posted by bertran at 1:41 AM on July 8, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by bertran at 1:41 AM on July 8, 2021 [12 favorites]
For background context, I suggest reading up on the wikipedia articles for the coup in 1991, and the popular reformist leader that was taken out, Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Fanmi Lavalas party.
Or, if you prefer a podcast, True Anon interviewed Dr. Jemima Pierre (of UCLA and Black Alliance for Peace) on the current crisis in Haiti three months ago. You can listen to that interview here. Her articles at Black Agenda Report are good too.
posted by davedave at 2:51 AM on July 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
Or, if you prefer a podcast, True Anon interviewed Dr. Jemima Pierre (of UCLA and Black Alliance for Peace) on the current crisis in Haiti three months ago. You can listen to that interview here. Her articles at Black Agenda Report are good too.
posted by davedave at 2:51 AM on July 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
The protests are not entirely new. They are a continuation of the reaction to the PetroCaribe scandal and the profound corruption of the current government. However, framing these current protests and the ensuing political crisis only through discussions of poverty and corruption – as many journalists and academics have been doing (with important exceptions ) – succumbs to an imperial amnesia. It is to forget the broad set of imperialist actions that created the conditions for protest. It is to perpetuate the easy narrative – the racialist tropes – of Haiti and Haitians as inherently corrupt and violent. It is to also condone the ongoing machinations on Haiti – the workings of an “international community” bent on keeping Haiti on its knees. - Pierre, 2019
(sorry for the double post, but the edit window closed, and this is already happening in the western press's "context" being provided right now)
posted by davedave at 3:01 AM on July 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
(sorry for the double post, but the edit window closed, and this is already happening in the western press's "context" being provided right now)
posted by davedave at 3:01 AM on July 8, 2021 [5 favorites]
recommended movie Aristide and the Endless Revolution
posted by robbyrobs at 3:28 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by robbyrobs at 3:28 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
sorry for the double post, but the edit window closed
No need to apologize- commenting twice is perfectly fine. The edit button is for fixing typos, not adding new stuff.
posted by zamboni at 6:35 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
No need to apologize- commenting twice is perfectly fine. The edit button is for fixing typos, not adding new stuff.
posted by zamboni at 6:35 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
After Moïse Assassination, Popular Sectors Must Lead the Way - Analysis the day after the Haitian president's assassination focused on liberal constitutionalism and elections. This narrow view overlooks the longstanding demands from organized popular sectors.
via https://nacla.org/search/node/haiti
posted by aniola at 8:58 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
via https://nacla.org/search/node/haiti
posted by aniola at 8:58 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Residents caught two more suspects of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at Morne Calvaire, Port-au-Prince Thursday, according to a live footage of Radio Mega.
posted by adamvasco at 9:40 AM on July 8, 2021
posted by adamvasco at 9:40 AM on July 8, 2021
Twitter thread from Haiti specialist and Historian Dr Alyssia Sepinwall
Re Moise: The US has been supporting him b/c his party was more favorable toward US business interests than that of avg Haitians.
The US has been supporting & arming Moise all this time, while occasionally tweeting "concern" about the "fate of democracy" .
He had SO MANY ENEMIES that it's hard to know which had him killed!!
posted by adamvasco at 11:19 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Re Moise: The US has been supporting him b/c his party was more favorable toward US business interests than that of avg Haitians.
The US has been supporting & arming Moise all this time, while occasionally tweeting "concern" about the "fate of democracy" .
He had SO MANY ENEMIES that it's hard to know which had him killed!!
posted by adamvasco at 11:19 AM on July 8, 2021 [1 favorite]
Despite whatever issues Moise represented, I have my serious doubts that anyone who was hiring foreign mercenaries to assassinate him will turn out to have had the good of Haiti in mind.
posted by tavella at 12:16 PM on July 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by tavella at 12:16 PM on July 8, 2021 [10 favorites]
No news yet on the paymasters but
26 Colombians and 2 Americans of Haitian origin (arrested) participated in the operation to assassinate President Jovenel Moïse. 15 Colombians were arrested, 3 were arrested and 8 are still in the wild, according to the DG of the National Police Léon Charles
posted by adamvasco at 5:25 PM on July 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
26 Colombians and 2 Americans of Haitian origin (arrested) participated in the operation to assassinate President Jovenel Moïse. 15 Colombians were arrested, 3 were arrested and 8 are still in the wild, according to the DG of the National Police Léon Charles
posted by adamvasco at 5:25 PM on July 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
One of the arrested Haitian Americans is
James Solages .Once ‘Chief Commander of Bodyguards’ for Haiti’s Canadian Embassy
posted by adamvasco at 5:30 PM on July 8, 2021
James Solages .Once ‘Chief Commander of Bodyguards’ for Haiti’s Canadian Embassy
posted by adamvasco at 5:30 PM on July 8, 2021
At least so far, it has the look of something where the hired killers were treated as disposable by the people who hired them and will be left to face the music while those higher up skate free.
posted by Dip Flash at 8:07 PM on July 8, 2021
posted by Dip Flash at 8:07 PM on July 8, 2021
The documentary above is worth a look, particularly to understand the context behind the 2004 coup. Despite being very poor, there are a number of multi millionaire and billionaire families, who pushed for the 2004 coup (which had US and Canadian support).
posted by molecicco at 10:47 PM on July 8, 2021
posted by molecicco at 10:47 PM on July 8, 2021
Apparently ex Colombian soldiers are also in the mercenary mix.
posted by molecicco at 10:55 PM on July 8, 2021
posted by molecicco at 10:55 PM on July 8, 2021
Some more and a bit more in depth about Haiti and the late President
According to the UN, the basic wellbeing of millions of Haitians is in peril, as gangs captured oil distribution centers in the weeks leading to the President's assassination.
The government of the assassinated President Jovenel Moïse has faced credible accusations of funding numerous gangs, as well as theft of public funds and involvement in organized crime. The gangs have also engaged in numerous assassinations of business leaders, civil society, and activists.
Some 46 percent of the Haitian population, or 4.4 million people, requires "urgent action" to combat the growing food crisis, and more than one million people are now on the brink of famine.
In addition to any political opponents, criminal gangs may also have played a part in the murder.
posted by adamvasco at 10:06 AM on July 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
According to the UN, the basic wellbeing of millions of Haitians is in peril, as gangs captured oil distribution centers in the weeks leading to the President's assassination.
The government of the assassinated President Jovenel Moïse has faced credible accusations of funding numerous gangs, as well as theft of public funds and involvement in organized crime. The gangs have also engaged in numerous assassinations of business leaders, civil society, and activists.
Some 46 percent of the Haitian population, or 4.4 million people, requires "urgent action" to combat the growing food crisis, and more than one million people are now on the brink of famine.
In addition to any political opponents, criminal gangs may also have played a part in the murder.
posted by adamvasco at 10:06 AM on July 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Beginning to look like a Palace Coup. Dimitri Herard, the head of the General Security Unit of the National Palace (USGPN, by its French acronym), is the subject of a US law enforcement investigation related to arms trafficking in Haiti, according to multiple sources both inside Haiti and the United States.
On Thursday, July 8, the chief government prosecutor in Port-au-Prince requested that Herard present himself for questioning in relation to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
posted by adamvasco at 1:50 PM on July 9, 2021
On Thursday, July 8, the chief government prosecutor in Port-au-Prince requested that Herard present himself for questioning in relation to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
posted by adamvasco at 1:50 PM on July 9, 2021
Haiti president’s assassination: what we know so far
Only a few things are known for sure about the killing of Jovenel Moïse, with many unanswered questions.
Very Murky
Jacobin asks: Were Haiti’s Capitalists Behind the Assassination of President Moïse?
or is this the rise of a new Revolution ?
Just this past week, gangleader Cherizier, a former gung-ho cop and leader of Revolutionary Forces of the G-9 Family and Allies, said, “We are going to come and enter your banks, your car dealership, your grocery stores, and take what is ours.”
posted by adamvasco at 10:03 AM on July 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
Only a few things are known for sure about the killing of Jovenel Moïse, with many unanswered questions.
Very Murky
Jacobin asks: Were Haiti’s Capitalists Behind the Assassination of President Moïse?
or is this the rise of a new Revolution ?
Just this past week, gangleader Cherizier, a former gung-ho cop and leader of Revolutionary Forces of the G-9 Family and Allies, said, “We are going to come and enter your banks, your car dealership, your grocery stores, and take what is ours.”
posted by adamvasco at 10:03 AM on July 12, 2021 [2 favorites]
That Haiti Liberte article on Cherizier is great. I'm not sure if I completely follow this logic though:
The RNDDH realizes that the PNH offensive against the G-9 effectively disproves their central premise that Jovenel Moïse and Jimmy Cherizier are allies.
Is it not entirely possible that the PNH had turned on Moise in the first place?
posted by molecicco at 11:30 PM on July 12, 2021
The RNDDH realizes that the PNH offensive against the G-9 effectively disproves their central premise that Jovenel Moïse and Jimmy Cherizier are allies.
Is it not entirely possible that the PNH had turned on Moise in the first place?
posted by molecicco at 11:30 PM on July 12, 2021
Special Online Event: 2 weeks after, what perspectives for Haiti?
Wednesday, July 21, 11-12:30 EDT
posted by aniola at 10:29 AM on July 16, 2021
Wednesday, July 21, 11-12:30 EDT
posted by aniola at 10:29 AM on July 16, 2021
Haitians can no longer hide behind the caste system killing our country
“Why is Haiti ungovernable?”
The answer is that it is by design. It is set up that way. Haiti is ruled not by the Black faces who are elected. It is governed by a small cabal of oligarch families who migrated to Haiti. They are known as BAM BAM, phonetically in Creole “Gimme, Gimme.” The acronym stands for the Brandt Acra, Madsen, Bigio, Apaid Mevs families.
posted by adamvasco at 9:02 AM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
“Why is Haiti ungovernable?”
The answer is that it is by design. It is set up that way. Haiti is ruled not by the Black faces who are elected. It is governed by a small cabal of oligarch families who migrated to Haiti. They are known as BAM BAM, phonetically in Creole “Gimme, Gimme.” The acronym stands for the Brandt Acra, Madsen, Bigio, Apaid Mevs families.
posted by adamvasco at 9:02 AM on July 17, 2021 [2 favorites]
So the FBI had been sent "to investigate" the assassination and are removing items from Moïse's home.
There is a very good subscription-only episode of the Bad Faith podcast on the assassination and includes a deep dive into the historical context.
posted by molecicco at 9:12 AM on July 17, 2021
There is a very good subscription-only episode of the Bad Faith podcast on the assassination and includes a deep dive into the historical context.
posted by molecicco at 9:12 AM on July 17, 2021
This story has become so incredibly weird. The consensus seems to be coalescing around the theory that this was essentially a freelance job led by an American national of Haitian origin who assembled a team of mercenary assassins with the plan to be installed as president (or prime minister? the reporting seems conflicted) following Moïse's murder. This dude Christian Emmanuel Sanon, who calls himself "Dr. Emmanuel Sanon" is a pastor and possibly a medical doctor (again reporting is conflicted) who has done significant humanitarian work in Haiti over the past couple of decades. It's not clear at all why he though he would take on a position of power following Moïse's death; he had lived in Miami prior to traveling to Haiti in June.
posted by mr_roboto at 4:44 PM on July 22, 2021
posted by mr_roboto at 4:44 PM on July 22, 2021
Asking the right questions in Haiti
In Haiti, you have to do whatever it takes to stay alive, to avoid becoming a statistic.
posted by adamvasco at 3:19 PM on July 28, 2021
In Haiti, you have to do whatever it takes to stay alive, to avoid becoming a statistic.
posted by adamvasco at 3:19 PM on July 28, 2021
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posted by molecicco at 11:33 PM on July 7, 2021 [1 favorite]