3 minutes read | originally published on July 7, 2021 at 3:22 a.m., modified on April 6, 2025 at 4:23 p.m.
The shocking news in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 7, 2021, early in the morning, the president of Haiti was assassinated. Leaving everyone speechless and in despair, especially the Haitian people and other parts of the world. According to Haitian prime minister, Joseph Jouthe, the president was in his private residence at Pèlerin 5, Pétionville during the assassination. President Jovenel Moïse was killed while he was in his home with his wife, first lady Martine Marie Étienne Moïse, who was reported to be seriously injured and later hospitalized.
Here’s what we know and why it was a tight knot confirming whether it was true that the president was killed
According to major news reports, a group of 28 mercenaries, including Colombians and some Haitians, entered Jovenel Moïse’s bedroom at around 1:00 a.m. and shot him dead with multiple firearms. His wife was found with life-threatening gunshot wounds. This was unbelievable, as the nation had not expected it. Due to the lack of clarity from other Haitian authorities, the actual killing of the president could not be immediately confirmed. Therefore, the authorities have not released any reliable information about the president’s assassination.
News reporters were also incredulous, unsure whether this was propaganda or the spread of fake news. Prime minister Ariel Henry initially published an official statement on the palace’s official website. But it was a second statement by Joseph Jouthe that confirmed that the president had indeed been assassinated, and people began to believe it.
Amidst this devastating news of the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse, we express our sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of president Jovenel Moïse, a speedy recovery for his now widowed wife first lady Martine Marie Étienne Moïse, justice for the country of Haiti.
