Slain Haitian president’s widow says husband targeted for political reasons | CBC News

Haitian authorities said foreign, trained assassins comprising 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans carried out the assassination. Colombian media suggested the Colombians may have been hired as security for the president.

Martine Moïse, who was wounded in the attack, said her husband was targeted for political reasons.

“You know who the president was fighting against,” she said in a recording released on Twitter, without naming anyone.

“They sent mercenaries to kill the president at his home with members of his family because of roads, water, electricity and referendum, as well as elections at the end of the year so that there is no transition in the country.”

The late president, who spoke of dark forces at play behind years of unrest — rival politicians and oligarchs angry about his attempts to clean up government contracts and politics — had proposed a referendum to change Haiti’s constitution.

The referendum, scheduled for Sept. 26 along with presidential and legislative elections, could abolish the prime minister’s position, reshape the legislative branch and strengthen the presidency.

Moïse’s killing has clouded those plans and led to political disarray in Haiti’s government, which has appealed for troops from the United States and the United Nations.

The U.S. said it has no plans to provide Haiti with military assistance, while the request to the UN would need authorization from its Security Council.

Late on Friday, the man Moïse appointed as prime minister just before the assassination claimed the right to lead Haiti.

But competing claims by political rivals have fuelled uncertainty as the government scrambles to maintain order and provide answers to the public about the killing.

Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who was named prime minister by the late president on Monday, told Reuters he was now the highest authority in Haiti, not interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, and that he was forming a government.

“After the president’s assassination, I became the highest, legal and regular authority because there was a decree nominating me,” he said in a phone interview Friday.

Henry said his government would create a new electoral council — given that the previous one was considered too partisan — which would determine new dates for elections.

“I don’t know what date they will be, all I know is that we cannot take too long to do these elections. We need to do them as soon as possible,” he said.

But Henry has yet to be sworn in, and Joseph — who was named interim prime minister in April — has stayed put, spearheading the response to the assassination, appealing to the U.S. for support and declaring a 15-day state of emergency.

The power struggle has created confusion over who is the legitimate leader.