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INSIGHTi
Haiti: Concerns After the Presidential
Assassination
July 8, 2021
Armed assailants assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in his private home in the capital, Port-au-
Prince, early on July 7, 2021 (see Figure 1). Many details of the attack remain under investigation.
Haitian Ambassador to the United States Bocchit Edmond said the attackers were “foreign mercenaries”
posing as U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents; the Biden Administration denied any U.S.
government involvement. On July 8, Haitian officials said six suspects were arrested, including one (and
possibly two) U.S. citizen; four other suspects were kil ed. First Lady Martine Moïse was wounded in the
attack and later airlifted to Florida for treatment. Protesters and opposition groups had been cal ing for
Moïse to resign since 2019. The assassination’s aftermath, on top of several preexisting crises in Haiti,
likely points to a period of major instability, presenting chal enges for U.S. policymakers and for
congressional oversight of the U.S. response and assistance. The Biden Administration requested $188
mil ion in U.S. assistance for Haiti in FY2022. Congress has previously held hearings, and the co-chair of
the House Haiti Caucus made a statement July 7 suggesting reexaminations of U.S. policy options on
Haiti.
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Figure 1. Haiti
Source: CRS.
Succession. Who wil succeed Moïse is unclear, as is the leadership of the Haitian government. In the
assassination’s immediate aftermath, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph was in charge and said the
police and military were in control of Haitian security. The government declared a two-week state of
emergency. Joseph became interim minister on April 14, 2021, after then-Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe
resigned. The day before the assassination, Moïse named Ariel Henry to be prime minister, but Henry has
yet to be sworn in. Under the Haitian Constitution (Article 149), if a president becomes incapacitated or
dies, the Council of Ministers under the prime minister should govern until the election of another
president within 60-120 days. If, as is the current case, the presidential vacancy occurs in the last two
years of a presidential term, the legislature should elect a provisional president to finish out the term.
Currently, however, Haiti has no functioning legislature, as most legislators’ terms expired on January 13,
2020. Some observers have suggested a role for Supreme Court judges in fil ing a presidential vacancy,
which was so under the 1987 constitution but has not been the case since amendments passed in 2011-
2012.
Before becoming interim prime minister, Joseph was Haiti’s foreign minister. Henry, a neurosurgeon,
coordinated Haiti’s response to the cholera epidemic in 2010 and served as minister of the Interior in a
government of consensus under President Michel Martel y in 2015.
Political Background and Recent Unrest. Under the administration of the late President Moïse, who
was inaugurated in February 2017, Haiti experienced political and social unrest, high inflation, and
resurgent gang violence. Government instability increased after May 2019, when the Superior Court of
Auditors delivered a report to the Haitian Senate al eging that Moïse had embezzled mil ions of dollars,
which Moïse denied. Since that time, periodic mass demonstrations have cal ed for the provision of
government services, an end to corruption, and Moïse’s resignation. Moïse said he would not resign.
Political gridlock between the executive and legislative branches led to the government not organizing
scheduled October 2019 parliamentary elections. The terms of the entire lower Chamber of Deputies and
two-thirds of the Senate expired in January 2020, as did the terms of al local government posts, without
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newly elected officials to take their places. Haiti thus has no functioning legislature, and Moïse had been
ruling by decree since January 2020.
Security Concerns. According to U.N. reports, gangs chal enge the Haitian state’s authority. Violent
crime has increased: in 2020, kidnappings increased by 200% over 2019, murders increased by 20%, and
reported rapes increased by 12%. The Haitian National Police (HNP) force, which became increasingly
professional with the support of U.N. peacekeeping forces (2004-2017) and U.S. and other international
assistance, has been unable to maintain control. The HNP’s is underfunded and smal er than international
standards for the country’s population. According to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Haiti, “Entire areas are controlled by armed gangs, which are often better armed and better equipped
than law-enforcement authorities.” According to the U.S. Treasury Department, gangs operate with the
support of some Haitian politicians, receiving money, political protection, and firearms in exchange for
carrying out attacks designed to create instability and suppress protests over living conditions. Observers
also are concerned over human rights abuses committed by police, including 19 extrajudicial kil ings in
2019. After the assassination, President Biden said the United States stands “ready to assist as we
continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti.”
Elections. U.N. and U.S. officials have been pressing Haiti to hold overdue legislative and municipal
elections as soon as possible. Instead, the Moïse government announced it would hold a referendum on a
new constitution and simultaneous legislative and presidential elections on September 19 (and, if
necessary, runoff elections on November 21). Moïse generated controversy when he appointed a
Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) by decree to organize the referendum and elections, without broad
political consensus backing that decision. The moves were arguably unconstitutional; al three branches of
government are supposed to choose electoral council members (Article192), two consecutive legislatures
are to approve constitutional changes (Articles 282-283), and constitutional amendment by referendum is
“strictly forbidden” (Article 284.3). The Biden Administration says it stil expects Haiti to hold elections
this year, and its FY2022 request includes $8 mil ion to strengthen electoral and other institutions,
promote political party competitiveness, and protect human rights.
Humanitarian Concerns. Political instability and extreme vulnerability to natural disasters contribute to
Haiti being the poorest and one of the most unequal countries in the Western Hemisphere; heightened
instability after the assassination could worsen conditions. According to the World Bank, a weak
economy, political turmoil, and the COVID-19 pandemic have reversed modest reductions in poverty,
leaving almost 60% of Haitians in poverty in 2020. Over 96% of the population is vulnerable to natural
disasters. Haiti has not initiated a COVID-19 vaccine program, and its infection rate is rising. According
to the World Bank, “a child born today in Haiti wil grow up to be only 45% as productive as they could
be if he or she had enjoyed full education and health.” Of the Biden Administration’s FY2022 foreign
assistance request for Haiti, $51 mil ion is for development assistance.
Author Information
Maureen Taft-Morales
Specialist in Latin American Affairs
Congressional Research Service
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