Minute by minute: assassination of the president of Haiti; Colombians arrested, suspects killed and state of siege

It is not yet clear who will lead Haiti, the country’s ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, told CNN after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, assumed leadership immediately after the attack and declared a “state of siege”, saying he does not want the country “to sink into chaos.”

Edmond said he doesn’t know if there is a timeline or deadline for the formal announcement of the succession.

“I will leave that to the Haitian authorities and the discussion with the stakeholders of civil society to see how you can move forward with that. So I cannot make an estimate on that, but what I know there has been, there is an interim government, you have to control the situation and make sure everything is under control, “he said.

The president of the Supreme Court would normally be the next in line, but that position is empty as the person who held it, René Sylvestre, recently died from covid-19. His funeral was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

Jean Wilner Morin, president of the national association of Haitian judges, told CNN that for the interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, to formally replace the president, would have to be approved by the Haitian parliament. But the parliament is partially empty and effectively defunct.

One point that further complicates the line of succession is that the president had appointed another prime minister, Dr. Ariel Henry, just two days ago.

Edmond could not say whether Henry will continue in his role as the new prime minister. He also said that it is unclear whether the presidential and local elections scheduled for September will take place.

Edmond also said he was not aware of any specific threats to the president’s life prior to the assassination.

“But what I can refer to is the last interview he gave in January to a Spanish newspaper, in which he said that many people wanted him assassinated. For his reforms. That is the only thing I can tell you,” he said.

More details: Edmond added that Haiti formally requested the help of the United States and is awaiting a response.

“We have been talking to the US authorities about this situation. And it is being considered, I do not know exactly how they are considering it, but we do formally request the assistance of the United States, one with the investigation, and secondly with the security situation.” , He said.

Edmond said the UN Security Council is expected to meet to address the situation in Haiti on Thursday.

“Let’s hope that the UN will take bolder measures to strengthen our security, because now it really is a problem for us,” he said.