Haiti's PM Ariel Henry survives assassination attempt at Independence Day event

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Sunday survived a failed assassination attempt at Saint Charles de Borromeo church in the city of Gonaives, VTV broadcaster reported. The incident occurred during a mass commemorating the country's 218th anniversary of independence. Local gangs had earlier warned the country’s PM against attending any Gonaives events. 

During the rampant gun firing, at least one person was killed, several others were wounded, reports confirmed on Jan. 2. The men that launched the unsuccessful attack were heavily armed, the Dominican news outlet revealed. Although there were no worshippers at the time of the attack, Henry, fortunately, did not suffer any injuries. 

The failed assassination attempt of the country’s leader has prompted Haiti to cancel all its events on Independence Day. The Dominican Today reports that the victim, whose identity is unknown, was killed in the middle of the shootout as an armed gang in the Raboto sector shot bullets at the security forces protecting Henry and other government officials. The ceremony was being held despite known threats from the armed group in the area. Haiti's Prime Minister was earlier warned not to enter the city over the looming safety concerns. The event was scheduled in the city on the commemoration of Haiti’s independence conquered from France.

Haiti President Haiti Jovenel Moise's assassination

Just this year, the 42nd President of Haiti Jovenel Moise was assassinated by an unidentified group of armed commandos. The leader was killed in his private residence an hour after midnight by the assailants that spoke Spanish. A former police commissioner and a prime suspect in the assassination, Gilbert Dragon, later succumbed to the COVID-19 infection in the prison. 

The 52-year-old was being transferred from pre-trial detention to the hospital, according to the media outlet Haiti24. Haiti, at the time, had detained more than 40 people for the alleged involvement in the killing. "There was infiltration in the police,” the Haitian National Police said in a report, made public after almost a month. The document had outlined the Dragon’s involvement in the planning of Moise's assassination. Recently, it was reported that another suspect, whose extradition efforts had long failed, would not be extradited to Haiti, and would instead be extradited to Colombia.