That configuration was put in place with strong encouragement from international actors and the U.S. But that group doesn’t necessarily have a legitimate claim that they were chosen by a fair election or represent the will of the Haitian people. It’s a specific group among its political leadership. involvement ramp up, it’s important to be clear that it’s not really Haiti calling for U.S. formal occupation began that lasted almost 20 years.Īs calls for U.S. The last time a Haitian president was assassinated was in 1915. There were complicated factors behind it, and what seemed to be one thing was actually something else.Īll these pieces that can seem odd are part of a larger stream-and consistent with a larger history. People watching Haitian politics understood that it would probably be a very long time before we knew what happened. Michael Bluhm: It’s one month after the president was gunned down, and most of the killers have been captured. In the end, Dubois says, this history of high-level intrigue has left Haiti’s state so weak that it chronically fails to serve or even represent the needs of most Haitian people. support as a means to further their personal ambitions. agenda in Haiti has often been muddled by the competing goals of different government institutions-while many Haitian leaders have angled for U.S. has exerted a powerful influence in Haiti for decades, often determining who rules the country, even as the U.S. Long before the murder, the country’s political dynamics were complicated by the clashing interests of the Haitian people, local political elites, and foreign actors such as the United States. To Dubois, it will almost certainly be a long time before the public knows who was behind Moïse’s assassination. Laurent Dubois is the co-director of the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia and the author of two books on Haiti. military provide security in Haiti, though the Biden administration has agreed only to help with the investigation. involvement in the country, some Haitian leaders have requested the U.S. Meanwhile, most of the 26 members of the mercenary commando unit that killed Moïse remain in jail, including 18 retired Colombian military officers and two U.S. Yet a prosecutor has issued arrest warrants for an array of public figures, including a former Haitian Supreme Court judge, the leader of Moïse’s political party, a former justice minister, and two evangelical pastors-while these men say the warrants are an attempt to silence critics of the country’s interim leadership. Investigating magistrates refuse to lead the murder probe, out of fear for their lives.

The investigation has stalled, the timing of new presidential elections is uncertain, and the political landscape is hard to read. One month after the July 7 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, the killing remains unresolved.

Haiti by Laurent Dubois