Haiti President Moise general security coordinator arrested in connection of his murder

A week after three top police officials were arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise, authorities on Monday confirmed the arrest of Moise's general security coordinator. According to a report by AP, the police officials suspect the role of Security chief Jean Laguel Civil in the assassination of the Haiti President, as no gunshots were fired by the security commandos at the time of the incident. "This was in order to ascertain "how the attackers were able to reach President Jovenel Moise without any of his keepers being injured in the deadly attack," said Haiti Director-General Leon Charles.  

Apart from the Haitian presidential security chief, a high court judge also arrested 

Meanwhile, Reynold Georges, lawyer of Civil, has termed the arrest of the general security coordinator, a "politically motivated" move. It wasn’t immediately clear if Civil had been charged with anything. The authorities have also reportedly issued a warrant for a high court judge whose role has also been under scrutiny as he has been fired by the assassinated President. On July 7, Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who ruled Haiti for more than four years was assassinated at his private home during a highly coordinated attack by an extremely trained and heavily armed group. His wife, Martine, who was injured in the attack, returned after being released from a hospital in Miami on Sunday. 

Protestors demand justice for slain President  

Subsequently, supporters of the Moise took to the street and marched a violent protest at several parts of the country. On July 22, Thursday, protests in Cap-Haitien turned violent as gunshots rang out while supporters of the slain President blocked roads and demanded justice. John Jovie, a protestor who was standing outside a church with a group of 7-8 men threatened more violence if wealthy members of the elite from the capital of Port-au-Prince showed up for the funeral ceremonies. "We ask them not to come to the funeral. If they come, we will cut their heads off. We will bring our guns out of hiding. …We want justice for Moise," said the protestor.

Meanwhile, police have arrested at least 26 people been including 20 former Colombian soldiers. Amid this turmoil, designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry--a neurosurgeon and former Cabinet minister-- sworn as the new prime minister on July 20, Tuesday. After taking the charge of the Prime Minister, he promised to re-establishing the law and order situation of the country in order to instil confidence among the citizens. Earlier, it was speculated that the first lady might take the charge of next Haiti President after she had a surprise return from the hospital.

Who was Moise?

The soft-spoken Moise seemed like an unlikely politician. According to the reports published in local media outlets, his father was a small-time farmer and his mother helped sell their crops and worked as a seamstress. Mouse won the 2015 presidential vote. However, the results were thrown out following allegations of fraud. Later, he won the November 2016 elections. He took office in February 2017. 

(With inputs from AP)

(Image Credit: AP)