ELMONT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — World leaders are expressing outrage over the assassination of the president of Haiti.
Jovenel Moise was shot to death early Wednesday in an attack at his residence. His wife was also shot and wounded.
The New York metropolitan area has the largest concentration of Haitians in the U.S. and many are expressing sadness and anger, CBS2’s Carolyn Gusoff reported.
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On the Queens-Nassau County border, lined with Haitian-owned businesses, restaurant owner Baz Germaine woke up to shocking news that has him fearing for the island nation’s future.
“I worry because my dad is still there, my sister is still there,” Germaine said.
“It’s terrible. I mean, it’s a human being that got killed,” added Ralph Dubuche of Cambria Heights.
Those who call Haiti their first home have watched decades of turmoil recently escalate with rising violence, kidnappings and poverty. But the assassination brings a new level of alarm.
The Embassy of Haiti in Washington called the assassination, “a well coordinated attack by a highly trained and heavily armed group,” and President Moise, “a true statesman who was committed to progressing our country’s democratic transition and fighting corruption.”
Protests had recently erupted over claims his term had expired.
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Elvire Naar of Elmont called the assassination in her native Haiti heartbreaking.
“That is so devastating. To me, it is a national disgrace,” Naar said. “What is next? What is next? I have no clue.”
Michaelle Solages is one of five members of the New York State Assembly of Haitian descent.
“Even though the situation is complex, what’s going on in Haiti, people don’t want to see a leader assassinated in cold blood. They want to see unity, they want to see democracy and they want to see elections,” Solages said.
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A purported image of the bloody slain leader was sent to a shaken Rev. Edy Bichotte, leader of Nassau’s largest Haitian church, Bethany French Baptist.
“The worry now is for the continued killing, or those who are fan of this president will react. Which way now, who they will kill? There is no president. It is a jungle,” Bichotte said.
As one Haitian-American New Yorker put it, “I would like to return one day to Haiti. I am just praying things there get better. At this point, they couldn’t get worse.”
President Joe Biden condemned the assassination as a “heinous act” and said the U.S. stands “ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti.”
from CBS New York https://ift.tt/2Izr88c
