View source for This Is The Moment A Baying Mob Captured Colombian Ex-military Mercenaries In Haiti Dragging Them Bloody And Beaten Through The Slums Of Port-au-Prince Amid Chaos In The Power Vacuum Left By The President s Assassination

This is the moment a baying mob captured Colombian ex-military mercenaries in Haiti, dragging them bloody and beaten through the slums of Port-au-Prince, amid chaos in the power vacuum left by the president's assassination.<br>Police said 26 Colombians and two US citizens were involved in the raid on Jovenel Moise's mansion in the early hours of Wednesday, without providing any motivation as scepticism grows among the populace. <br>They include James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55, both Haitian-born US citizens, who were pictured with 17 other suspects - the rest are either still at large or have been killed, the police said. <br>Footage showed two Colombian suspects being hauled through the streets with ropes around their midriffs, one of the men was shirtless and covered in blood as people shoved the pair amid shouts and shrieks from the mob.<br>Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who was due to be replaced this week, has declared a 'state of siege' and seized sole power of the country, a move disputed by the man who Moise had named as his successor, the country's coronavirus tsar, Ariel Henry.<br>Adding to that turmoil, the Caribbean nation has no clear legal framework for succession after the justice chief who should have taken over, according to the constitution, died last month of Covid-19.<br>Moise, who was accused of turning the country into dictatorship, had stripped away the country's legislature and consolidated power in the executive, meaning that whoever fills the vacuum could continue the tyranny.<br>Just after 1am on Wednesday, assassins shouting in American accents 'DEA operation, stand down' stormed into the 53-year-old's private residence in the hills above the capital, ransacking bedrooms and offices, and leaving him to die an horrific death with machine gun fire riddling his body from his head down to his legs.  <br>His wife, First Lady Martine, 47, was gravely wounded and has since been rushed to a hospital in Miami, while their adult daughter Jormalie was left fearing for her life as she cowered in a bedroom but was able to escape unharmed.    <br>              Footage showed two Colombian suspects being hauled through the streets with ropes around their midriffs, one of the men was shirtless and covered in blood as people shoved him amid shouts and shrieks from the mob.<br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-19', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>James Solages, 35, (left) and Joseph Vincent (right) are both US citizens of Haitian descent, and were arrested along with 15 Colombian nationals over Wednesday's brazen assassination of President Moïse's mansion in the hills above Port-au-Prince<br>              The two suspected Colombian mercenaries, one covered in blood, the other man in front in a grey t-shirt, are pushed and shoved through the streets<br>              The suspected hired guns are dragged up steps with ropes tied around their midriffs by the mob <br>         Interim President Claude Joseph, center, speaks to journalists during a press conference to show the captured suspects.<br><br>Joseph tightened his grip on sole power in Haiti Thursday, despite the lack of legal framework for succession<br>         Police lined up the 17 assassination suspects, including two American citizens and 15 Columbians, behind a table displaying an array of firearms, machetes, sledgehammers and several Colombian passports<br>         The motely assortment of weapons included rusty machetes, shotguns, high-powered rifles and handguns<br>         Suspects in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise, among them Haitian-American citizens James Solages, left, and Joseph Vincent, second left, are shown to the media at the General Direction of the police in Port-au-Prince<br>         Suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead early Wednesday at his home, are shown to the media in Port-au-Prince on Thursday<br>         After earlier claiming seven suspects were killed, Léon Charles, chief of Haiti's National Police, now claims that only three other suspects were killed by police, saying eight others are on the run <br>         Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and First Lady Martine are pictured together in 2017.<br><br>Moïse was riddled with 12 bullet holes and had his eye gouged out during Wednesday's brutal attack, which killed him and seriously injured his wife<br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-44', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Police chief Leon Charles told a news conference on Thursday that three suspects had been killed by police in a gun battle following the assassination, while eight others were on the run.  <br>'Foreigners came to our country to kill the president,' Charles said.<br><br>'There were ... 26 Colombians, identified by their passports ... and two Haitian Americans as well.' <br>'We are going to bring them to justice,' he said as the 17 suspects sat handcuffed on the floor during a press conference on Thursday night, where a variety of weapons and Colombian passports were arrayed on a table.  <br>Solanges, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the president of a charity based in south Florida and claims to be a former bodyguard at Canada's embassy in Haiti.<br><br>Vincent lives in the Miami area. Both men were born in Haiti, officials said. <br>The U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports that Haitian Americans were in custody but could not confirm or comment. <br>Haitian authorities have still not revealed a motive for the killing, what evidence led them to the suspects, or who they believe masterminded the plot - and scepticism is growing among the Haitian public over the government's account of the assassination.<br>Meanwhile, Interim President Claude Joseph tightened his grip on sole power in Haiti, despite the lack of legal framework for succession and a dispute with his replacement, whom Moïse named just a day before his assassination.<br>At the news conference, Charles, the police chief, urged people to stay calm and let police do their work as he warned that authorities needed evidence they were destroying, including cars belonging to the suspects that were torched by a mob.<br>Officials did not address a motive for the slaying, saying only that the attack, condemned by Haiti´s main opposition parties and the international community, was carried out by 'a highly trained and heavily armed group.'<br>Not everyone was buying the government's description of the attack.<br><br>When Haitian journalist Robenson Geffrard, who writes for a local newspaper and has a radio show, tweeted a report on the police chief´s comments, he drew a flood of responses expressing skepticism. <br>Many wondered how the sophisticated attackers described by police could penetrate Moïse's home, security detail and panic room and then escape unharmed but were then caught without planning a successful getaway.<br>Questions are now mounting about the nation's future and who will be Moise's successor as Haiti is already in the grips of poverty, gang warfare and accusations of corruption.  <br>Moise's assassination came just one day after Moise named Henry as the new prime minister, taking over from Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph once he builds his government.<br>However, Joseph assumed sole power of the embattled country, declaring a 15-day 'state of siege' granting him absolute authority and the two men have given somewhat conflicting accounts over who should rightfully be in power. <br>Henry - considered more favorably by the opposition - told Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste that he did not consider Joseph the legitimate prime minister and he should revert to the role of foreign minister.<br>'I think we need to speak.<br><br>Claude was supposed to stay in the government I was going to have,' Henry was quoted as saying.<br>The United Nations Special Envoy for  [https://www.certificationsbuzz.com/about/sd0-401 CertificationsBuzz sd0-401 Preparations Materials] Haiti said on Thursday Joseph would remain leader until an election was held, urging all parties to set aside their differences.<br>Joseph said he had spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and asked Washington for 'technical support' to help hold elections in the coming days.  <br>         Interim President Claude Joseph, center, looks at the suspects at the press briefing.<br><br>Joseph has assumed absolute power by declaring a 'state of siege' despite questions over who should assume the presidency<br>         Suspects in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise are shown to the media in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Thursday<br>         Weaponry, mobile phones, passports and other items are being shown to the media along with suspects in the assassination<br>         Not everyone was buying the government's description of the attack.<br><br>Many wondered how the sophisticated attackers described by police could penetrate Moïse's home, but were then caught without planning a successful getaway<br>         Soldiers frog march two of the suspects in the assassination after displaying them for the media at a press conference<br>         Police officers guard a group of suspects accused of having participated in the assassination of the Haitian President<br>Solages is the president of the board of directors of Jacmel First, a charity founded in south Florida in 2019 which is focused on ending childhood hunger in Haiti.  <br>Haiti's Minister of Elections and Inter-party Relations Mathias Pierre told the Associated Press he would not provide additional details about Solages' background. He also did not detail either of the American's alleged involvement in the assassination or what evidence led to their arrests. <br>According to his charity's bio page, Solages previously worked as the chief commander of bodyguards for The Canadian embassy in Haiti and is a building engineer specializing in infrastructure development. <br>Currently, he works as a corporate executive serving as a consultant in different locations throughout South Florida and also serves as a politician 'promoting his country by focusing on compassion programs and counseling economic development program', his bio reads.  <br>He also describes himself as a 'certified diplomatic agent,' an advocate for underprivileged children and a budding politician. <br>Jacmel First's charitable mission is to support the growth and development of underprivileged people in Haiti and specifically Jacmel - a port town on the south coast of the country, the website says.<br>This includes through education, health education and the implementation of sanitation systems.<br>Attempts by DailyMail.com to reach the charity by phone did not go through or were not answered.  <br>         American 'mercenary' and former head of security at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti James Solages (pictured) is among the six 'assassins' who have been arrested over the murder of President Jovenel Moïse, according to a government official<br>              James Solages (pictured), a US citizen of Haitian descent and president of a local charity, was taken into custody over Wednesday's early morning raid on Moïse's mansion, Haiti's Minister of Elections and Inter-party Relations Mathias Pierre said <br>   RELATED ARTICLES               <br><br><br><br>Share this article<br>Share<br><br><br>National Police Director Leon Charles said at a press briefing Thursday afternoon that authorities 'have the physical perpetrators in hand and we are looking for the instigators.'  <br>At least two of the men brought in alive were reportedly found hiding in bushes by civilians who [https://topofblogs.com/?s=roughed roughed] them up before turning them over to police while others were captured or killed during an overnight shootout with security forces.     <br>National Police Director Leon Charles told Radio Metropole Thursday that other members of the hit squad remain at large and vowed that the other people responsible 'will be killed or arrested.'   <br>No motive has been given for the attack which left Moïse riddled with 12 bullet holes and with his eye gouged out.  <br>A crowd of local residents took matters into their own hands Thursday, surrounding two male suspects who they claimed were hiding in bushes in Port-au-Prince. <br>The crowd was seen grabbing the suspects by their shirts and the back of their pants, pushing and slapping them before police officers arrived. <br>Cops placed the two men in the back of a police pickup truck to transport them to the police station of Petion Ville in Port-au-Prince as the crowd chased after the vehicle.   <br>         Six 'assassins' have been arrested and three killed over the murder of Haiti president Jovenel Moïse, police said.<br><br>The bodies of two of the people killed by police are pictured being transported away in a police vehicle<br>         Haitian police transport two other men in the back of a cop trailer to the police station of Petion Ville in Port-au-Prince.<br><br>Police said the two men are suspects in the murder of Haiti president Jovenel Moïse <br>         One of the men detained by Haitian police on suspicion of being involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse<br>         Another male suspect is seen covered in blood as he was loaded into the back of a police car Thursday - one day on from the deadly raid on the president's mansion<br>         The two men were reportedly found hiding in bushes by civilians who roughed them up before turning them over to police<br>         People look in through the window of the police car at the bodies of two of the people suspected of being involved in the assassination of the president <br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-83', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>The ongoing manhunt and the captures and killings of some suspects comes as: <br>It was revealed that Moise was shot 12 times in the assassination while his daughter was forced to hideFirst Lady Martine, who was shot multiple times, is now in a 'stable condition' after being airlifted to MiamiInterim PM Joseph said he asked the US for 'technical support' to hold an election in the coming days White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the US is calling for an election in Haiti this yearThe UN Special Envoy for Haiti said Thursday Joseph would remain the leader until an election is held Joseph declared a 'state of siege' Wednesday and locked down the country under military control Dominican military mobilized to the border with Haiti to boost security at all crossingsHaitian ambassador to the US said the assassins are believed to be 'mercenaries' and 'well-trained killers'US State Department and Haitian ambassador dismissed any suggestion assassins were actual DEA agents Haiti now thrown into confusion about who is in charge with no legal framework for successionThere are just 10 elected officials in the country, all of them senators, and the legislature is defunct The crowd gathered outside the police station and demanded authorities hand the men over to them so they could 'burn them' in retaliation for killing their president.<br>'They killed the president!<br><br>Give them to us. We're going to burn them!' the crowd chanted. <br>They later set fire to several abandoned cars riddled with bullet holes that they apparently believed belonged to the suspects. <br>The cars didn't have license plates and inside one of them was an empty box of bullets and some water.<br>PM Joseph urged citizens not to lynch any of Moise's suspected assassins but to hand them over to the police. <br>It is not clear how the locals identified the men or the vehicles as wanted in connection to the assassination of their president. <br>However, the detention of the two men took the number of suspects brought in alive to six while seven have been killed, with more still at large, according to police. <br>Police chief Charles said late Wednesday that four 'mercenaries' were shot dead in the exchange between members of the suspected hit squad and police as they tried to flee the scene.<br>Three police officers were taken hostage by the suspected assassins, but were safely rescued amid a police shootout with the suspects. <br>Charles said two suspects were captured and taken into police custody alive.  <br>The bodies of two of the people killed were transported away in the back of a police van as locals gathered and peered through the windows.<br>Charles said cops had been 'battling' with commandos throughout Wednesday, with some of his officers taken hostage at one point before being freed. <br>An unspecified number of attackers remained at large, he said. Charles did not detail what evidence had led authorities to the suspects. <br>PM Joseph previously said some of the gang are believed to be from Colombia and Venezuela.<br>         A crowd of locals gathered outside the Petion Ville police station Thursday demanding police hand over the suspects so they can burn them in retaliation for the president's assassination<br>         Two suspects captured alive are seen being transported to the police station. Police chief Leon Charles said an unspecified number of attackers remained at large<br>         The police load the two suspects into the back of a pickup trailer after they were found 'hiding in bushes' by civilians <br>The arrests and deaths of some of the suspected assassins comes as new details emerged about the brutality of the deadly raid. <br>The raid took place just after 1am local time.<br><br>Shell casings could be seen on the street outside as forensics experts combed the scene for evidence. A nearby car was peppered with bullet holes. <br>Moise's terrified adult daughter Jomarlie was forced to hide in a bedroom as the assassins ransacked his office and rooms, firing machine guns and leaving her 53-year-old father to die an horrific death, lying in a pool of blood at the private residence. <br>Magistrate Carl Henry Destin told the Nouvelliste newspaper that the president's body had been ripped apart by 12 bullets from large caliber rifles and smaller 9mm weapons, to the forehead, chest, hips and abdomen.<br>'The president's office and bedroom were ransacked.<br><br>We found him lying on his back, blue pants, a white shirt smeared with blood, his mouth open, his left eye gouged out,' he said. <br>Moise's wife First Lady Martine, 47, was shot through the legs, arm, torso and hand. <br>She was first treated at a local hospital then airlifted in a 'critical condition' to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami.   <br>She was pictured arriving at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, where she arrived at 3.30pm on Wednesday.<br>She was then transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for medical treatment.<br><br>Officials said her vital signs were stable but her condition was critical.  <br>Haiti's Ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond said Martine is now 'out of danger' and in a 'stable condition.'<br>Their daughter Jomarlie was in the home during the attack but hid in a bedroom, Destin, the magistrate, said. <br>He said a maid and another domestic staff member were tied up by the gunmen who had shouted 'DEA operation' as they burst in, pretending they were officers of the US Drugs Enforcement Administration, speaking in English and Spanish. <br>Edmond described the assassins as 'foreign mercenaries and professional killers', however, he said 'there is no doubt about it, there would be, there was some internal help.'   <br>         A crowd of local residents took matters into their own hands Thursday, surrounding two male suspects before police officers arrived and detained them (above) <br>         No motive has been given by authorities and none of the identities of the suspects have been revealed - including their age, nationality, gender or ethnicity<br>         Police try to control the crowd gathered outside the police station as six suspects have been arrested and seven killed <br>         Crowds surround the police station where the suspects in connection to the assassination of the president are being held <br>Joseph said Thursday the nationwide manhunt for those responsible was ongoing as he revealed he had asked the US for assistance in holding an election.<br>He told he had asked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for technical support for the Haitian National Police so they can secure the population, track down gangs and to help Haiti hold elections in the coming days. <br>The US had previously called for an election to be held in the Caribbean country by the end of 2021.<br>White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday the US was continuing to call for an election this year saying it is 'in the interest of the people of Haiti.' <br>'We called for an election this year, or we're continuing to call for one, because we feel that supporting democratic institutions, the democratic process, is something that would be in the interest of the people of Haiti,' she told reporters at the White House.<br>Psaki said that the White House had been in touch with the acting prime minister and 'of course' the administration is 'worried about, and closely monitoring, the security situation' in Haiti. <br>She said the Biden administration was ready to support Haiti in any way it needs.  <br>'We stand ready to provide support, provide assistance, in any way that is formally requested by the government there.<br><br>We are looking forward to hearing from them on what they would request and how we can help them through this period of time,' she said.<br>Meanwhile, the UN's Special Envoy for Haiti Helen La Lime said in New York that Joseph told UN officials he plans to maintain the scheduled September 26 election date. <br>She said the UN is working with Haitian officials 'to look at the issues and to do our utmost to meet this date.'<br>In the meantime, she said Joseph would remain the leader of the nation until an election is held.<br>         Locals surround a police car transporting two men arrested in the Jalousie township of Port-au-Prince Thursday <br>         People climb on the fencing around the police station where authorities are holding the suspected assassins in Haiti<br>         Police patrol a street as a crowd of locals followed the suspects to the police station where at least two men were being held <br>         People look into a police car Thursday near the police station. Questions are now mounting about the nation's future and who will be Moise's successor as Haiti is already in the grips of poverty, gang warfare and accusations of corruption<br>         A crowd surrounds a police car with two suspects inside as police said more of the hit squad responsible for Wednesday's attack remain at large <br>Joseph claims he has the situation in hand but the international community fears the country will fall into utter chaos after months of protests against Moise, who was accused of turning the country into a dictatorship and allowing armed gangsters to roam the streets to prevent new elections. <br>Video taken over the city on Wednesday evening showed smoke rising from several locations and captured the sound of gunfire - though it was unclear whether the shooting was related to the police operation or signaled that the impoverished, violence-wracked nation was plunging deeper into chaos. <br><br>The assassination came amid political turmoil in Haiti with opponents of Moise trying to force him from office, claiming his five-year term has expired. <br>Moise said back in February that he survived another assassination attempt, describing it as 'a coup'.<br><br>At least 23 people, including a top judge and police official, were arrested.<br>Joseph has now declared a two-week 'state of siege' imposing martial law, halting all flights out of Port-Au-Prince and sealing the country's borders, while neighboring Dominican Republic mobilized its military to guard Haiti's only land border.  <br>It followed a tense day of uncertainty and chaos for millions of Haitians, with no presidential succession plan in place, and the fraught security situation leaving the streets of Port-Au-Prince deserted as millions sheltered in their homes and waited for any news updates.   <br>         The critically-injured Martine Moise was flown to Miami and then taken by air ambulance to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami for treatment after she was shot alongside her husband<br>         President Moise with First Lady Martine and their three children, from left, Jomarlie, Jovenel Jr and Joverlein<br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-112', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Haiti's Police Chief Léon Charles (above) said four suspected killers of President Jovenel Moise have been fatally shot by police and two others arrested after the gang of alleged assassins took three police officers hostage<br>         President Moise, 53, was assassinated at his private residence outside Port-Au-Prince in the early hours of Wednesday in a brazen attack that left his wife, First Lady Martine Moise, critically wounded<br>         Police agents work near the house of the assassinated Haitian president, Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday<br>         Children walk on an empty street in front of a cathedral that was destroyed by the 2010 earthquake in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday.<br><br>The normally bustling streets were nearly deserted as millions huddled inside awaiting any news updates<br>President Joe Biden said he was 'shocked' by the assassination and that 'a lot' more information is needed.<br>'We are shocked and saddened to hear of the horrific assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the attack on First Lady Martine Moise,' the US President said in a statement. <br>'We condemn this heinous act and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moise's recovery.'<br>Speaking to reporters as he left for a trip to Chicago, Biden called the incident 'very worrisome'. <br>U.S.<br><br>Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to Haiti's interim prime minister on Wednesday and voiced commitment to work with the Haitian government for peace and security, the State Department said.<br>In the call, Blinken 'reiterated the United States' continued commitment to work with the Government of Haiti in support of the Haitian people and democratic governance, peace, and security,' the State Department said in a statement.<br>The UN Security Council was holding an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation, and issued a statement expressing 'deep concern regarding deteriorating political, security and humanitarian conditions in Haiti.'<br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-121', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Trinity Air Ambulance touches down at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport in Florida, carrying the gravely injured Martine Moise, Haiti's First Lady, who was shot during an assassination raid that killed her husband, Haitian President Jovenel Moise<br>         Martine Moise, first lady of Haiti, arrives at Jackson Health System's Ryder Trauma Center, in Miami, for treatment Wednesday after being shot multiple times at her home earlier in the day in Port-au-Prince, Haiti in the attack that killed her husband<br>         Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has seized control of the country for the time being with the backing of the police and military, but Haiti has no legal framework for presidential succession<br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-128', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Joseph described the attack on the president and first lady as a 'hateful, inhumane and barbaric act.' <br>'My compatriots - remain calm because the situation is under control,' Joseph said in a televised address to the nation, backed by a row of somber-faced officials.<br><br>'This blow has wounded this country, this nation, but it will not go unpunished.' <br>The prime minister identified the assassins as 'mercenaries' believed to include Haitians and natives of Colombia and Venezuela, according to local reporter Alexander Gálvez, who spoke to Colombian radio station Blu Radio. <br>Joseph has seized control of the country for the time being with the backing of the police and military, but Haiti has no legal framework for presidential succession, and the future of the country's leadership remains unclear.<br>The normally bustling streets of Port-au-Prince were deserted on Wednesday as police and military plunged the capital into lockdown. Public transportation was scarce, and scattered bands of people searched for businesses that were open to buy food and water. <br>Gunfire rang out intermittently across the city, a grim reminder of the growing power of gangs that displaced more than 14,700 people last month alone as they torched and ransacked homes in a fight over territory. <br>Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, said gangs were a force to contend with and it isn't certain Haiti's security forces can enforce a state of siege.<br>'It's a really explosive situation,' he said, adding that foreign intervention with a U.N.-type military presence is a possibility. <br>'Whether Claude Joseph manages to stay in power is a huge question. It will be very difficult to do so if he doesn't create a government of national unity.'<br>         Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, said the assailants' whereabouts remained unknown earlier on Wednesday. 'I believe they are fake DEA agents,' he said, calling the assassins 'mercenaries' and 'well-trained killers'<br>         The normally bustling streets of Port-au-Prince were deserted on Wednesday as police and military plunged the capital into lockdown and the PM declared a 'state of siege' imposing martial law and sealing the borders<br>         Police stand near a mural featuring Haitian President Jovenel Moise, near the leader's residence where he was killed by gunmen in the early morning hours in Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Wednesday<br>         Aerial view of a military guard shutting down the Dajabon border crossing between the Dominican Republic and Haiti after the borders were closed due to the assassination perpetrated by an armed group against the president of Haiti<br>         Dominican soldiers shut down the Dajabon border crossing and fortify the border after Haiti declared a 'state of siege'<br>          The Haitian Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Smith Augustin, speaks at a press conference on Wednesday, as Dominican officials joined the manhunt and deployed troops to seal the land border with Haiti <br>The increasingly dire situation comes as Haiti is still trying to recover from the devastating 2010 earthquake and Hurricane Matthew in 2016 following a history of dictatorship and political upheaval. <br>Haiti had grown increasingly unstable under Moïse, who had been ruling by decree for more than a year and faced violent protests as critics accused him of trying to amass more power while the opposition demanded he step down.<br>According to Haiti's constitution, Moïse should be replaced by the president of Haiti's Supreme Court, but the chief justice died in recent days from COVID-19, leaving open the question of who might rightfully succeed to the office.<br>Joseph, meanwhile, was supposed to be replaced by Ariel Henry, who had been named prime minister by Moïse a day before the assassination.<br>Henry told The Associated Press in a brief interview that he is the rightful prime minister, calling it an exceptional and confusing situation. <br>In another interview with Radio Zenith, he said there was no fight between him and Interim PM Joseph, saying: 'I only disagree with the fact that people have taken hasty decisions...<br><br>when the moment demands a little more serenity and maturity.'<br>The attack on President Moise unfolded at around 1am on Wednesday, when a group of 'foreigners', some of whom spoke English and Spanish, broke into his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince, according to a statement by the French-speaking country's prime minister. <br>In footage purportedly recorded by a witness, someone with an American accent shouts into a megaphone: 'DEA operation. Everybody stand down. DEA operation. Everybody back up, stand down.' <br>Gunfire then erupts in the video which was uploaded to Instagram by someone who says they were in the Pelerin 5 neighborhood, where the president's house is located. <br>          more videos                                                                           <br><br>DM.later('bundle', function()<br>DM.molFeCarousel.init('#p-141', 'channelCarousel', <br>"activeClass" : "wocc",<br>"pageCount" : "3.0",<br>"pageSize" : 1,<br>"onPos": 0,<br>"updateStyleOnHover": true<br>);<br>);<br>Footage circulating in Haitian WhatsApp groups purports to show men with rifles arriving at the president's home last night<br>              Footage circulating online purportedly taken by a neighbour of the president shows men with rifles arriving outside the property<br>         Investigators work near Haitian President Jovenel Moise's home in Port-au-Prince collecting evidence after the assassination<br>         Bullets holes are seen in a wall at Haitian President Moise's home in Port-au-Prince after the brazen attack that killed him<br>         Members of the Haitian police and forensics mark a bullet on the street as they look for evidence outside of the presidential residence on Wednesday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti<br>         A Haitian police officer stands guard outside of the presidential residence on Wednesday in Port-au-Prince, Haiti<br>         The President of Haiti Jovenel Moise has been assassinated by gunmen claiming to be DEA agents in a nighttime raid on his home that also left his wife seriously injured, according to reports (pictured with his wife Martine in October 2018)<br>The assailants were pretending to be from the US Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA) and were 'mercenaries,' a government source told .<br>Officials in both Haiti and the US have dismissed any notion that the killers were actual DEA agents.<br><br>US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said those claims were 'absolutely false.'<br>'I believe they are fake DEA agents,' Haitian ambassador Edmond agreed in remarks to reporters, calling the assassins 'mercenaries' and 'well-trained killers.'<br>Mr Moise had been accused of turning Haiti into a dictatorship, refusing to relinquish the presidency after his term ended earlier this year, using armed thugs to spread fear and trying to change the constitution to consolidate power - including installing an intelligence agency that answered directly to him. <br>He was killed a day after he nominated Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon, as the new prime minister.<br><br>Mr Henry, the eighth PM in the last four years, was due to take over later this week from Mr Joseph, who had been named as interim in April.   <br>Residents last night reported hearing high-powered rounds and saw men dressed in black sprinting through the neighborhood.<br>There were also claims of a grenade going off and drones being deployed. <br>Further videos purportedly taken by a neighbor show men with rifles arriving outside the president's house. It is not clear whether they are from the country's security forces or if they are the assassins.<br>PM Joseph, who earlier said he had taken charge of the country, declared a 'state of siege' on Wednesday which grants him additional powers.<br>'I have just chaired an extraordinary council of ministers meeting and we have decided to declare a state of siege throughout the country,' the prime minister said.<br>He said that the police and armed forces were taking 'all measures to guarantee the continuity of the State and protect the Nation.'<br>Congresswoman Frederica Wilson, a Democrat from South Florida, released a statement that read in part: 'I was shocked by the news about the assassination of Haiti's president Jovenel Moïse and to learn that his wife, Martine, also was shot during the attack.<br><br>My thoughts are with the people of Haiti and I pray that this will not lead to more havoc in an already extremely troubled nation.' <br>         The President of Haiti Jovenel Moise was shot dead in his home in the Pelerin 5 neighbourhood in the hills above Port-au-Prince<br>         A car riddled with bullet holes outside the late president's home in the hills near Port-au-Prince on Wednesday<br>         Presidential guards patrol the entrance to the residence of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise in Port-au-Prince<br>         Haitian security forces stand guard at the entrance to the presidential residence <br>         Ammunition casings lay on the ground near the entrance to the house of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise<br>         The entrance to Mr Moise's private residence which was raided by gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday<br> <br>          Military vehicles block the entrance to Petion Ville, the neighborhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday<br>         Soldiers patrol in Petion Ville, the neighbourhood where the late Haitian President Jovenel Moise lived in Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday after the shooting<br>         <br>         US-based Haitian singer-songwriter Wyclef Jean tweeted about the assassination on Wednesday morning<br><div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-ee8eada0-dffd-11eb-b2d0-4566d24aa50a" website moment baying mob capture Colombia mercenaries in Haiti