The shocking assassination of Haiti’s president means U.S. must get off the sidelines and act | Editorial

With the shocking news of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination at his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince early Wednesday, Haiti moved perilously close to being a nation without a government.

That will have an enormous impact in Miami, of course, with its large Haitian diaspora and deep ties to the country. Miami is where the president’s wife, Martine — who survived the attack but was injured — was brought Wednesday for treatment of her injuries.

But on the wider, international stage, Moïse’s death and the lack of a functioning government also serves as a clear cut signal that the U.S. must play a greater role in Haiti’s future, starting right now.

The nation of 11.5 million, already hurting in many ways for decades, had been deteriorating even further under Moïse’s rule-by-decree since January 2020, after the country failed to hold elections. Gang violence and kidnappings have gone up, along with street protests over Moïse’s governance. Opposition leaders have been demanding that he step down.

The former banana plantation farmer, who took office in 2017 with no previous political experience, was accused of using armed gangs to remain in power. He was also accused of corruption, as part of a far-reaching report into how multiple Haitian governments spent nearly $2 billion in aid from Venezuela’s PetroCaribe program. A constitutional and political crisis had been brewing for months, as the U.S. was well aware.

Leadership vacuum

The president’s death left Haiti without clear leadership. Elections were supposed to be held in two months. President Biden on Wednesday called the attack “horrific’ and “heinous.” For the people of Haiti, it is probably just plain terrifying.

The vacuum of power now makes the situation hard to predict. Moïse died with an interim prime minister not ratified by parliament and a new one, Dr. Ariel Henry, not yet sworn in. Another complication: Henry would be unable to get parliament’s blessing — because none has existed since January 2020, when Moïse declared the chamber dysfunctional.

There isn’t even a president of the Supreme Court: René Sylvestre, the president, died last week from COVID-19. In all, there are only 10 elected officials in the country, all senators. And one, Joseph Lambert, appears to be making a play for the job of interim president, or at least some of his supporters are.

All of this adds up to one thing: The United States, which has been content to stay mostly quiet on Haiti in both the Trump administration and the Biden administration, will have to get off the sidelines — immediately.

The lack of real engagement by the U.S. as Haiti continued to spiral down was seen by many as tacit support of Moïse, despite worrying signs for months that the president was becoming the region’s newest strongman.

In February, members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the U.S. to back a transition government in Haiti. The lawmakers said the human rights situation there was perilous, and accused Moïse of flouting democracy.

In May, the U.S. extended 18 months of Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, to Haitians already living in the United States, an important acknowledgment that conditions in the country had grown too unstable for citizens to return safely.

“The United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti,” a statement from the White House said on Wednesday, “and we stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti.”

Haiti will need help from the U.S., no doubt. But what is the practical translation of working to help Haiti become safe and secure?

U.S. must step in

It’s clear that Haiti will need both immediate and longer-term guidance to move forward in a democratic way. This is a country that started out with weak institutions, and they’re now virtually non-existent. The U.S., as Haiti’s biggest donor, has no choice but to take the lead — with international partners and, importantly, Haiti’s own civil society — to stabilize Haiti.

An international coalition could do immense good very quickly by picking five critical things to focus on so that basic life in Haiti can continue: good roads, reliable electricity, clean water, policing that works and COVID vaccines, for example.

The U.S. must also drop the idea of elections in two months. The Biden administration had pinned its hopes on “free and fair” elections, refusing to take into consideration the amount of turmoil in Haiti was going to make that very hard time to pull off.

Transition governments have worked in the past. That’s the best path forward now. Elections must be reset for a date that allows Haiti time to get its footing. Rushing into an election now will only result in more chaos — and an electorate that doesn’t believe in the results.

Perhaps most important of all, any international effort and interim government must bring Haiti’s civil society fully into the decision-making about the nation. Too many times, the U.S. has had a hand in what has gone on it Haiti but hasn’t listened to the people there.

Haiti luckily escaped being hit by Hurricane Elsa, but it’s still early in the hurricane season. A U.S.-led coalition needs to step in before there is any additional upheaval, such as a natural disaster, that would make things — bad as they are — even worse.

Haiti has a long and complicated relationship with the United States. Moïse’s death only makes that more fraught. But with the death of the president, the U.S. must step in, carefully. The goal this time must be, ultimately, to see Haiti stand on its own.

We don’t yet know what the full ramifications of this assassination will be. We don’t know in what direction the country will go nor exactly what the U.S. role will need to be. But there is no doubt, as we wait to learn more, that the execution of the president of Haiti means the U.S. must speak up — clearly and strongly — to make sure that tortured nation steps back from the precipice of disaster and toward democracy.

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