ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled
| Filter | Status | Condition | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP status | PASS | download_http_code = 200 | HTTP 200 |
| Age cutoff | PASS | download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH | 0.1 months ago |
| History drop | PASS | isNull(history_drop_reason) | No drop reason |
| Spam/ban | PASS | fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0 | ml_spam_score=0 |
| Canonical | PASS | meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed | Not set |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/jovenel-moise-haiti-president-assassinated-at-age-53 |
| Last Crawled | 2026-04-14 22:02:49 (2 days ago) |
| First Indexed | 2021-07-07 19:31:15 (4 years ago) |
| HTTP Status Code | 200 |
| Meta Title | Jovenel Moise: Haiti’s president assassinated at age 53 | Politics News | Al Jazeera |
| Meta Description | Moise served as president for more than four years amid increasing political instability and surging gang violence. |
| Meta Canonical | null |
| Boilerpipe Text | The
assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise
, who governed for more than four years amid increasing political instability and surging gang violence, has shaken the Caribbean nation and drawn condemnation around the world.
Moise, 53, was killed in the early hours of Wednesday at his private home in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in what Prime Minister Claude Joseph said was “a highly coordinated attack by a highly trained and heavily armed group”.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items
list 1 of 4
What is happening in Haiti, where political crisis persists?
list 2 of 4
Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated in attack on home
list 3 of 4
Haiti’s turbulent political history – a timeline
list 4 of 4
‘Full of barbarity’: World denounces Jovenel Moise assassination
end of list
“Haiti has lost a true statesman,” Joseph said. “We will ensure that those responsible for this heinous act are swiftly brought to justice.”
Moise’s killing has been widely
condemned by world leaders
as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called on all Haitians “to preserve the constitutional order, remain united in the face of this abhorrent act and reject all violence”.
Joseph has sought to reassure people in the aftermath of the attack, with the Haitian authorities saying
a countrywide “state of siege”
first announced after Moise’s killing would last 15 days as they investigate and seek out the perpetrators.
Later published in an official gazette, the “state of siege”
notice
signed by Joseph and other Haitian ministers gives authorities the power to enter peoples’ homes, ban meetings that they believe could cause disorder, and “generally take all measures” deemed necessary to arrest the attackers.
Joseph’s office also said on Wednesday evening that he was meeting with the Core Group of the Organization of American States (OAS) to discuss the political fallout of Moise’s death and wanted to reassure the international community “that he has control of the situation”.
‘Banana Man’
Amnesty International condemned Moise’s killing, urging an immediate and impartial investigation into the assassination “alongside the grave human rights violations and chronic impunity that ordinary people have suffered under his watch”.
“This is a wake-up call for the international community, and for the Haitian authorities who have overseen chronic impunity and ignored the calls of human rights defenders that has paved the way for such a serious crisis,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s Americas Director, said in a statement.
Moise’s time in office was marked by numerous controversies, including the disputed length of his presidential term, a contentious plan to hold a constitutional referendum later this year, as well as accusations that his government was “
complicit
” in gang violence.
The president was a virtual unknown to the general public before he won a first round of Haitian elections in October 2015.
But the vote was marred by widespread voter fraud and a presidential runoff was pushed back several times. A vote was held again in November 2016 and Moise won 55.6 percent support amid 18.1 percent voter turnout – nearly 591,000 votes out of a possible 6.1 million. He officially took office on February 7, 2017.
A former entrepreneur who had set up a string of businesses in the north of the country, he burst onto the political stage with a populist message of building up the country, which suffers from widespread poverty.
His past ventures included water treatment, the energy sector and agricultural production, the latter of which earned him his nickname, “Neg Bannan nan” or “The Banana Man” in Creole.
He had been handpicked by former President Michel Martelly in 2015 as the PHTK candidate to succeed him.
Moise’s focus on agriculture and his provincial home became key campaign themes in the following election. Backed by a communications team that was more advanced than those of his rivals, Moise visited all 145 of Haiti’s communes.
Contentious presidential term
He had been ruling by presidential decree for more than a year after dissolving a majority of parliament in January 2020, amid a delay in legislative elections due to political gridlock and protests that paralysed the country in 2019.
Rights groups had condemned his use of decrees, including ones that effectively removed judges from the supreme court (Cour de Cassation) in violation of the Haitian Constitution. Moise then appointed replacements to the court, also without following constitutional guidelines.
The length of his term also has been a major point of contention over the past year.
Moise said his five-year term began in 2017 – and therefore would end in February 2022 – but Haitian opposition groups, civil society organisations as well as the country’s leading jurists all said his term expired this past February, urging him to step down.
That dispute led to
mass protests in Port-au-Prince
earlier this year, with
demonstrators
shouting, “We are back to dictatorship! Down with Moise!”.
A protester holds a sign with a message to stop supporting gangs during a protest demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince last year [File: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo]
The president insisted he had one more year, however, and said he would step down in 2022. “Democracy works when we all agree to play by the rules of the game … Today marks the first day of my fifth year,” he said on February 7.
That same day, Haitian government officials said they had
foiled an attempt to overthrow
Moise. Nearly two dozen people were arrested at that time, including a Supreme Court judge, whose detention was denounced by top legal experts as “illegal”.
Surging gang violence
Political instability and gang violence have increased in recent months, as well.
Thousands of women and children were displaced by gang violence in the Haitian capital last month,
the United Nations’ child rights agency said
in mid-June, warning that a growing number of families in Port-au-Prince now lack clean water and other necessities.
Just last week, journalist Diego Charles and political activist Antoinette Duclair were
shot dead amid a spate of overnight shootings
in Port-au-Prince, drawing calls for the Haitian government to do more to stem rising attacks.
The uptick in violence is linked to changing gang alliances and territorial disputes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had said.
In May, Haitian rights group National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said “people have been burned alive, houses have been set on fire with the meagre possessions of the victims. Vehicles have been hijacked and at least one woman has been raped.
“The silence of the state authorities proves their total disinterest in the massive and systematic violations of the rights to life and physical security, the private property of the people who live in these deprived neighbourhoods where heinous crimes have been perpetrated,” the group said.
Under Moise, kidnappings for ransom also surged, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the country – such as the
abduction in April targeting 10 people
including seven Catholic clergy. |
| Markdown | Skip links[Skip to Content](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/jovenel-moise-haiti-president-assassinated-at-age-53#main-content-area)
[Live](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live)
Sign up
Navigation menu
- [News](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/)
Show more news sections
- [Africa](https://www.aljazeera.com/africa/)
- [Asia](https://www.aljazeera.com/asia/)
- [US & Canada](https://www.aljazeera.com/us-canada/)
- [Latin America](https://www.aljazeera.com/latin-america/)
- [Europe](https://www.aljazeera.com/europe/)
- [Asia Pacific](https://www.aljazeera.com/asia-pacific/)
- [Middle East](https://www.aljazeera.com/middle-east/)
- [Explained](https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/explainer/)
- [Opinion](https://www.aljazeera.com/opinion/)
- [Sport](https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/)
- [Video](https://www.aljazeera.com/videos/)
- More
Show more sections
- [Features](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/)
- [Economy](https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/)
- [Human Rights](https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/human-rights/)
- [Climate Crisis](https://www.aljazeera.com/climate-crisis)
- [Investigations](https://www.aljazeera.com/investigations/)
- [Interactives](https://www.aljazeera.com/interactives/)
- [In Pictures](https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/)
- [Science & Technology](https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/science-and-technology/)
- [Podcasts](https://www.aljazeera.com/audio/podcasts)
- [Travel](https://www.aljazeera.com/travel)
[Live](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/live)
Click here to search
Sign up
Navigation menu
- [**Trending**](https://www.aljazeera.com/)
- [US-Israeli war on Iran](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2026/4/13/iran-war-live-us-military-to-block-iranian-port-traffic-in-hormuz-strait)
- [Hungary election](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/12/hungary-election-early-results-show-magyars-tisza-ahead-of-orbans-fidesz)
- [Tracking Israel's ceasefire violations](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/11/how-many-times-has-israel-violated-the-gaza-ceasefire-here-are-the-numbers)
- [Russia-Ukraine war](https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/ukraine-russia-crisis/)
- [Donald Trump](https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/donald-trump/)
[News](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/)\|[Politics](https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/politics/)
# Jovenel Moise: Haiti’s president assassinated at age 53
*Moise served as president for more than four years amid increasing political instability and surging gang violence in Haiti.*
Save
Click here to share on social media
Share
Add Al Jazeera on Google
Haitian President Jovenel Moise, 53, was killed in the early hours of Wednesday at his private home in the capital, Port-au-Prince \[File: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo\]
Published On 7 Jul 20217 Jul 2021
The [assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haiti-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-interim-pm), who governed for more than four years amid increasing political instability and surging gang violence, has shaken the Caribbean nation and drawn condemnation around the world.
Moise, 53, was killed in the early hours of Wednesday at his private home in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in what Prime Minister Claude Joseph said was “a highly coordinated attack by a highly trained and heavily armed group”.
## Recommended Stories
list of 4 items
- list 1 of 4[What is happening in Haiti, where political crisis persists?](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/28/what-is-happening-in-haiti-political-crisis-persists)
- list 2 of 4[Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated in attack on home](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haiti-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-interim-pm)
- list 3 of 4[Haiti’s turbulent political history – a timeline](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haitis-turbulent-political-history-a-timeline)
- list 4 of 4[‘Full of barbarity’: World denounces Jovenel Moise assassination](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/world-reacts-to-horrific-assassination-of-haitis-president)
end of list
“Haiti has lost a true statesman,” Joseph said. “We will ensure that those responsible for this heinous act are swiftly brought to justice.”
Moise’s killing has been widely [condemned by world leaders](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/world-reacts-to-horrific-assassination-of-haitis-president) as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called on all Haitians “to preserve the constitutional order, remain united in the face of this abhorrent act and reject all violence”.
Joseph has sought to reassure people in the aftermath of the attack, with the Haitian authorities saying [a countrywide “state of siege”](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haitian-president-jovenel-moise-killed-in-attack-live) first announced after Moise’s killing would last 15 days as they investigate and seek out the perpetrators.
Later published in an official gazette, the “state of siege” [notice](https://www.facebook.com/PrimatureHaiti/posts/4151405984947366) signed by Joseph and other Haitian ministers gives authorities the power to enter peoples’ homes, ban meetings that they believe could cause disorder, and “generally take all measures” deemed necessary to arrest the attackers.
Joseph’s office also said on Wednesday evening that he was meeting with the Core Group of the Organization of American States (OAS) to discuss the political fallout of Moise’s death and wanted to reassure the international community “that he has control of the situation”.
Advertisement
## ‘Banana Man’
Amnesty International condemned Moise’s killing, urging an immediate and impartial investigation into the assassination “alongside the grave human rights violations and chronic impunity that ordinary people have suffered under his watch”.
“This is a wake-up call for the international community, and for the Haitian authorities who have overseen chronic impunity and ignored the calls of human rights defenders that has paved the way for such a serious crisis,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s Americas Director, said in a statement.
Moise’s time in office was marked by numerous controversies, including the disputed length of his presidential term, a contentious plan to hold a constitutional referendum later this year, as well as accusations that his government was “[complicit](https://twitter.com/houseforeign/status/1404569995187789824)” in gang violence.
The president was a virtual unknown to the general public before he won a first round of Haitian elections in October 2015.
But the vote was marred by widespread voter fraud and a presidential runoff was pushed back several times. A vote was held again in November 2016 and Moise won 55.6 percent support amid 18.1 percent voter turnout – nearly 591,000 votes out of a possible 6.1 million. He officially took office on February 7, 2017.
A former entrepreneur who had set up a string of businesses in the north of the country, he burst onto the political stage with a populist message of building up the country, which suffers from widespread poverty.
His past ventures included water treatment, the energy sector and agricultural production, the latter of which earned him his nickname, “Neg Bannan nan” or “The Banana Man” in Creole.
He had been handpicked by former President Michel Martelly in 2015 as the PHTK candidate to succeed him.
Moise’s focus on agriculture and his provincial home became key campaign themes in the following election. Backed by a communications team that was more advanced than those of his rivals, Moise visited all 145 of Haiti’s communes.
## Contentious presidential term
He had been ruling by presidential decree for more than a year after dissolving a majority of parliament in January 2020, amid a delay in legislative elections due to political gridlock and protests that paralysed the country in 2019.
Rights groups had condemned his use of decrees, including ones that effectively removed judges from the supreme court (Cour de Cassation) in violation of the Haitian Constitution. Moise then appointed replacements to the court, also without following constitutional guidelines.
Advertisement
The length of his term also has been a major point of contention over the past year.
Moise said his five-year term began in 2017 – and therefore would end in February 2022 – but Haitian opposition groups, civil society organisations as well as the country’s leading jurists all said his term expired this past February, urging him to step down.
That dispute led to [mass protests in Port-au-Prince](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/15/down-with-the-dictatorship-protests-continue-in-haiti) earlier this year, with [demonstrators](https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/2/11/in-pictures-haitian-police-fire-tear-gas-on-protesters) shouting, “We are back to dictatorship! Down with Moise!”.
A protester holds a sign with a message to stop supporting gangs during a protest demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince last year \[File: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo\]
The president insisted he had one more year, however, and said he would step down in 2022. “Democracy works when we all agree to play by the rules of the game … Today marks the first day of my fifth year,” he said on February 7.
That same day, Haitian government officials said they had [foiled an attempt to overthrow](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/7/haiti-president-says-he-is-staying-put-amid-dispute-over-his-term) Moise. Nearly two dozen people were arrested at that time, including a Supreme Court judge, whose detention was denounced by top legal experts as “illegal”.
## Surging gang violence
Political instability and gang violence have increased in recent months, as well.
Thousands of women and children were displaced by gang violence in the Haitian capital last month, [the United Nations’ child rights agency said](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/15/haiti-thousands-displaced-as-gang-violence-insecurity-escalates) in mid-June, warning that a growing number of families in Port-au-Prince now lack clean water and other necessities.
Just last week, journalist Diego Charles and political activist Antoinette Duclair were [shot dead amid a spate of overnight shootings](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/30/haitian-journalist-activist-killed-in-port-au-prince-shootings) in Port-au-Prince, drawing calls for the Haitian government to do more to stem rising attacks.
The uptick in violence is linked to changing gang alliances and territorial disputes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had said.
In May, Haitian rights group National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said “people have been burned alive, houses have been set on fire with the meagre possessions of the victims. Vehicles have been hijacked and at least one woman has been raped.
“The silence of the state authorities proves their total disinterest in the massive and systematic violations of the rights to life and physical security, the private property of the people who live in these deprived neighbourhoods where heinous crimes have been perpetrated,” the group said.
Under Moise, kidnappings for ransom also surged, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the country – such as the [abduction in April targeting 10 people](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/12/haiti-seven-catholic-clergy-kidnapped-held-for-ransom) including seven Catholic clergy.
***
###
##
##
##
###
##
##
##
###
##
##
##
Advertisement
***
- ## About
About
Show more
- [About Us](https://www.aljazeera.com/about-us)
- [Code of Ethics](https://www.aljazeera.com/code-of-ethics/)
- [Terms and Conditions](https://www.aljazeera.com/terms-and-conditions/)
- [EU/EEA Regulatory Notice](https://www.aljazeera.com/eu-eea-regulatory/)
- [Privacy Policy](https://privacy.aljazeera.net/)
- [Cookie Policy](https://privacy.aljazeera.net/cookie/)
- [Cookie Preferences](https://www.aljazeera.com/)
- [Accessibility Statement](https://trust.aljazeera.net/accessibility/)
- [Sitemap](https://www.aljazeera.com/sitemap)
- [Work for us](https://careers.aljazeera.net/)
- ## Connect
Connect
Show more
- [Contact Us](https://network.aljazeera.net/en/contact?tid=6)
- [User Accounts Help](https://www.aljazeera.com/user-accounts-help)
- [Advertise with us](https://commercial.aljazeera.net/)
- [Stay Connected](https://www.aljazeera.com/stay-connected)
- [Newsletters](https://www.aljazeera.com/newsletters)
- [Channel Finder](https://sat.aljazeera.net/en)
- [TV Schedule](https://www.aljazeera.com/schedule/)
- [Podcasts](https://www.aljazeera.com/podcasts/)
- [Submit a Tip](https://webapps.aljazeera.net/aje/tips/)
- [Paid Partner Content](https://www.aljazeera.com/sponsored)
- ## Our Channels
Our Channels
Show more
- [Al Jazeera Arabic](http://aljazeera.net/)
- [Al Jazeera English](https://www.aljazeera.com/)
- [Al Jazeera Investigative Unit](https://www.ajiunit.com/)
- [Al Jazeera Mubasher](https://www.aljazeeramubasher.net/)
- [Al Jazeera Documentary](http://doc.aljazeera.net/)
- [Al Jazeera Balkans](http://balkans.aljazeera.net/)
- [AJ+](http://ajplus.net/)
- ## Our Network
Our Network
Show more
- [Al Jazeera Centre for Studies](http://studies.aljazeera.net/en/)
- [Al Jazeera Media Institute](http://training.aljazeera.net/)
- [Learn Arabic](http://learning.aljazeera.net/)
- [Al Jazeera Centre for Public Liberties & Human Rights](http://liberties.aljazeera.com/en)
- [Al Jazeera Forum](http://forum.aljazeera.net/)
- [Al Jazeera Hotel Partners](https://hotels.aljazeera.net/en)
Follow Al Jazeera English:
© 2026 Al Jazeera Media Network |
| Readable Markdown | The [assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haiti-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-interim-pm), who governed for more than four years amid increasing political instability and surging gang violence, has shaken the Caribbean nation and drawn condemnation around the world.
Moise, 53, was killed in the early hours of Wednesday at his private home in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in what Prime Minister Claude Joseph said was “a highly coordinated attack by a highly trained and heavily armed group”.
## Recommended Stories
list of 4 items
- list 1 of 4[What is happening in Haiti, where political crisis persists?](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/28/what-is-happening-in-haiti-political-crisis-persists)
- list 2 of 4[Haiti President Jovenel Moïse assassinated in attack on home](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haiti-president-jovenel-moise-assassinated-interim-pm)
- list 3 of 4[Haiti’s turbulent political history – a timeline](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haitis-turbulent-political-history-a-timeline)
- list 4 of 4[‘Full of barbarity’: World denounces Jovenel Moise assassination](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/world-reacts-to-horrific-assassination-of-haitis-president)
end of list
“Haiti has lost a true statesman,” Joseph said. “We will ensure that those responsible for this heinous act are swiftly brought to justice.”
Moise’s killing has been widely [condemned by world leaders](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/world-reacts-to-horrific-assassination-of-haitis-president) as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who called on all Haitians “to preserve the constitutional order, remain united in the face of this abhorrent act and reject all violence”.
Joseph has sought to reassure people in the aftermath of the attack, with the Haitian authorities saying [a countrywide “state of siege”](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/7/haitian-president-jovenel-moise-killed-in-attack-live) first announced after Moise’s killing would last 15 days as they investigate and seek out the perpetrators.
Later published in an official gazette, the “state of siege” [notice](https://www.facebook.com/PrimatureHaiti/posts/4151405984947366) signed by Joseph and other Haitian ministers gives authorities the power to enter peoples’ homes, ban meetings that they believe could cause disorder, and “generally take all measures” deemed necessary to arrest the attackers.
Joseph’s office also said on Wednesday evening that he was meeting with the Core Group of the Organization of American States (OAS) to discuss the political fallout of Moise’s death and wanted to reassure the international community “that he has control of the situation”.
## ‘Banana Man’
Amnesty International condemned Moise’s killing, urging an immediate and impartial investigation into the assassination “alongside the grave human rights violations and chronic impunity that ordinary people have suffered under his watch”.
“This is a wake-up call for the international community, and for the Haitian authorities who have overseen chronic impunity and ignored the calls of human rights defenders that has paved the way for such a serious crisis,” Erika Guevara-Rosas, the group’s Americas Director, said in a statement.
Moise’s time in office was marked by numerous controversies, including the disputed length of his presidential term, a contentious plan to hold a constitutional referendum later this year, as well as accusations that his government was “[complicit](https://twitter.com/houseforeign/status/1404569995187789824)” in gang violence.
The president was a virtual unknown to the general public before he won a first round of Haitian elections in October 2015.
But the vote was marred by widespread voter fraud and a presidential runoff was pushed back several times. A vote was held again in November 2016 and Moise won 55.6 percent support amid 18.1 percent voter turnout – nearly 591,000 votes out of a possible 6.1 million. He officially took office on February 7, 2017.
A former entrepreneur who had set up a string of businesses in the north of the country, he burst onto the political stage with a populist message of building up the country, which suffers from widespread poverty.
His past ventures included water treatment, the energy sector and agricultural production, the latter of which earned him his nickname, “Neg Bannan nan” or “The Banana Man” in Creole.
He had been handpicked by former President Michel Martelly in 2015 as the PHTK candidate to succeed him.
Moise’s focus on agriculture and his provincial home became key campaign themes in the following election. Backed by a communications team that was more advanced than those of his rivals, Moise visited all 145 of Haiti’s communes.
## Contentious presidential term
He had been ruling by presidential decree for more than a year after dissolving a majority of parliament in January 2020, amid a delay in legislative elections due to political gridlock and protests that paralysed the country in 2019.
Rights groups had condemned his use of decrees, including ones that effectively removed judges from the supreme court (Cour de Cassation) in violation of the Haitian Constitution. Moise then appointed replacements to the court, also without following constitutional guidelines.
The length of his term also has been a major point of contention over the past year.
Moise said his five-year term began in 2017 – and therefore would end in February 2022 – but Haitian opposition groups, civil society organisations as well as the country’s leading jurists all said his term expired this past February, urging him to step down.
That dispute led to [mass protests in Port-au-Prince](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/15/down-with-the-dictatorship-protests-continue-in-haiti) earlier this year, with [demonstrators](https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/2/11/in-pictures-haitian-police-fire-tear-gas-on-protesters) shouting, “We are back to dictatorship! Down with Moise!”.
A protester holds a sign with a message to stop supporting gangs during a protest demanding the resignation of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince last year \[File: Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo\]
The president insisted he had one more year, however, and said he would step down in 2022. “Democracy works when we all agree to play by the rules of the game … Today marks the first day of my fifth year,” he said on February 7.
That same day, Haitian government officials said they had [foiled an attempt to overthrow](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/7/haiti-president-says-he-is-staying-put-amid-dispute-over-his-term) Moise. Nearly two dozen people were arrested at that time, including a Supreme Court judge, whose detention was denounced by top legal experts as “illegal”.
## Surging gang violence
Political instability and gang violence have increased in recent months, as well.
Thousands of women and children were displaced by gang violence in the Haitian capital last month, [the United Nations’ child rights agency said](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/15/haiti-thousands-displaced-as-gang-violence-insecurity-escalates) in mid-June, warning that a growing number of families in Port-au-Prince now lack clean water and other necessities.
Just last week, journalist Diego Charles and political activist Antoinette Duclair were [shot dead amid a spate of overnight shootings](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/6/30/haitian-journalist-activist-killed-in-port-au-prince-shootings) in Port-au-Prince, drawing calls for the Haitian government to do more to stem rising attacks.
The uptick in violence is linked to changing gang alliances and territorial disputes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) had said.
In May, Haitian rights group National Human Rights Defense Network (RNDDH) said “people have been burned alive, houses have been set on fire with the meagre possessions of the victims. Vehicles have been hijacked and at least one woman has been raped.
“The silence of the state authorities proves their total disinterest in the massive and systematic violations of the rights to life and physical security, the private property of the people who live in these deprived neighbourhoods where heinous crimes have been perpetrated,” the group said.
Under Moise, kidnappings for ransom also surged, reflecting the growing influence of armed gangs in the country – such as the [abduction in April targeting 10 people](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/12/haiti-seven-catholic-clergy-kidnapped-held-for-ransom) including seven Catholic clergy. |
| Shard | 165 (laksa) |
| Root Hash | 11003203525177986165 |
| Unparsed URL | com,aljazeera!www,/news/2021/7/7/jovenel-moise-haiti-president-assassinated-at-age-53 s443 |