US team to visit Haiti after President’s assassination

A US delegation is due to visit Haiti to assess the security situation there following last week’s assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
The team will also meet three Haitian politicians, each of whom is claiming to be the country’s legitimate leader.
Moïse, 53, was killed at his Port-au-Prince residence on 7 July, by 28 foreign mercenaries including retired Colombian soldiers, Haitian police say. His wife was injured in the attack, and then flown to the US for treatment.
Martine Moïse later described the moment assassins “riddled” her husband with bullets after bursting into their home in the middle of the night.
She said the attack happened so quickly, her husband Jovenel was unable to “say a single word”.
After the attack, Haiti’s authorities Haiti’s authorities asked the US and the UN to send troops to the country to protect key infrastructure.
President Joe Biden’s administration initially rejected the request – but has now decided to have a closer look at the situation.
Among the members of the American delegation are senior security and justice officials, US media report.
Moïse had been president of Haiti, the poorest nation in the Americas, since 2017. His time in office was rocky as he faced accusations of corruption and there were widespread demonstrations in the capital and other cities earlier this year.