Haiti

Tensions Rise in Haiti as Speculation Swirls Behind Assassination

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At first, most Haitians could not believe President Jovenel Moise was assassinated Wednesday morning, a South Florida man said.

“The second mood turned into, how did we allow foreigners to come in and kill our president?" Christerson Jeanty said.

“The intention has never really been, amongst Haiti, is to kill a president. It’s to remove them from power...Go exit, get him to exile, get them on a plane to leave. So the mood when that happened it was just a shock,” Jeanty said.

Moise’s death was unexpected, but now more details have been released about the group of suspected shooters, and outrage is growing among some Haitians on the island nation.

“Reports trickling in saying as another 4 to 6 have been captured, and you can see them, the anger that people have captured him. A group of people from the popular area and they’re angry," Jeanty said.

Jeanty is from South Florida but now lives in Petionville, about 15 minutes away from where the assassination happened.

He’s lived on the island for over five years and is an entrepreneur.

Here in Miami, there was increased police presence at Ryder Trauma Center, where Haiti’s First Lady, Martine Moise, is recovering from the assassination attack.

She was transported to the hospital after she was flown in on Wednesday evening.

All eyes are on Haiti right now, as the country remains on edge following the presidential assassination.

“They feel there’s going to be a spiral into chaos, mayhem," Jeanty said. "I disagree ... I think Haitians are going to pull together a pool together, rally together."

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