Protests erupt in Haiti ahead of president’s funeral
July 22, 2021
Violent unrest was reported in northern Haiti on Wednesday, as demonstrators vented their anger over the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who will be buried on Friday. At least one person was killed in the violence.
The individual was shot in the community of Quartier-Morin, which is near Trou-du-Nord, where Moise was born.
Blockades were set up between the two communities, temporarily halting cars from entering or leaving, while plumes of black smoke rose nearby.
Protesters blame police for the assassination
National police chiefs arriving in Cap-Haitien to help oversee Moise's funeral were met with an acrimonious response from the slain president's supporters, who blame the police for his death on July 7.
Government officials claim Moise was murdered by a team of predominantly Colombian mercenaries, but many questions remain, with some Moise supporters suspecting that the president's security did not do enough to protect him.
Meanwhile, Moise's widow Martine showed up in public for the first time since returning from Miami last weekend.
Dressed in black, wearing a face mask and with her heavily plastered right arm in a sling, Martine Moise sat in silence beneath a portrait of the president as a priest delivered a eulogy to her late husband.
jsi/dj (AP, Reuters)