Haiti: Concerns After the Presidential Assassination

Haiti: Concerns After the Presidential Assassination

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INSIGHTi
Haiti: Concerns After the Presidential
Assassination
Updated July 19, 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 police have arrested more than 20 people, including former Colombian soldiers, two Haitian
Americans, and a Haitian with long-standing ties to Florida. A Pentagon spokesperson said the U.S.
military helped train a “smal number” of the Colombian suspects in the past.
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 cochair of the House Haiti Caucus made a statement on
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, recognized by
U.S. and U.N. officials, and said the police and military were in control of Haitian security. Joseph
became interim prime minister in April 2021. The day before the assassination, Moïse named Ariel Henry
to be prime minister, but Henry had 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. The legislature also should confirm the prime minister. 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. On
July 9, one-third of the Haitian Senate, acting without a quorum, declared Senate president Joseph
Lambert provisional president. A Biden Administration delegation met with al three claimants to power
on July 11 in response to Haiti’s request for security and investigative assistance. On July 27, U.S. and
U.N. officials changed their position and, along with other diplomats, expressed support for Henry as
prime minister, cal ing for the formation of a consensus government and the holding of credible elections
as soon as possible. Joseph agreed to step down as prime minister.
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 Senate al eging 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 had 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

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two-thirds of the Senate expired in January 2020, as did the terms of al local government posts, without
newly elected officials to take their places. Moïse had been ruling by decree since then.
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 is underfunded and smal er than international
standards for the country’s population. According to the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Haiti, gangs 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. Although President Biden said
the United States is ready to help work for a secure Haiti, he also said sending in U.S. troops was not
currently on the agenda.
Elections. U.N. and U.S. officials have pressed 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 by decree, without
broad political consensus, a Provisional Electoral Council (CEP) to organize the referendum and
elections. 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. 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.” Haiti has not initiated a
COVID-19 vaccine program, and its infection rate is rising. The United Sates donated 500,000 doses of
COVID-19 vaccines that arrived on July 14. 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

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IN11699 · VERSION 2 · UPDATED