The wife of the assassinated Haitian President Giovinel Mois She has spoken for the first time since the gunman attacked the couple’s home in Port-au-Prince, saying that the assault that killed her husband happened “in a blink of an eye.”

In an audio message posted on her official Twitter account on Saturday, Martina Moise urged Haiti not to “get lost” after the severely injured attack.

“Thank God, I am still alive,” Martine Moise said in Creole in an audio message, and Haitian Minister of Culture and Communications Pradel Henriquez confirmed to AFP that this is true.

“I’m still alive, but I lost my husband Jovenel,” she added.

Jovenel Moise, 53 years old, is Killed by armed gunmen In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the Haitian authorities described this as a “highly coordinated attack carried out by a well-trained and heavily armed group.”

Haiti declared a 15-day “state of martial law” immediately after his death and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Haitian authorities say An armed assault team consisting of 28 people -26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans-rushed into the home and opened fire on the couple.To date, 17 people have been arrested and at least 3 suspects have been arrested Be killed, But there is no public motive.

After the attack, Martine Moise was taken to a Haitian hospital and then evacuated to Miami, Florida for more treatment.

“In the blink of an eye, the mercenary broke into my house and hit my husband with bullets…not even giving him a chance to speak,” she said in an audio message.

She also said that mercenaries were sent to kill her husband, “because of roads, water, electricity and Referendum and election The end of the year so that the country has no transition”.

“I’m crying, it’s true, but we can’t let this country lose its way,” Martine Moise said. “We can’t let his blood…spatter in vain.”

In the early morning of July 7, the police stood near the mural near the Haitian President Jovenel Moise, where he was killed by the gunman [Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo]

Power struggle

Jovenel Moise has served as President since 2017 Gang Violence Thousands of people have been displaced in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince in recent weeks. Journalist and famous political activist A fatal blow.

In recent months, the country has suffered Mass protest Haitians urged Moise to step down, saying that he has been in office for more than five years-a view shared by senior jurists, civil society groups and the country’s political opposition.but Moise insisted that his presidency will expire next year.

His death made the poverty-stricken Haitian politics even more unstable-especially before his death, Moise had always been Decree He was also accused of depriving several key institutions of their operational capabilities.

A power struggle seems to be brewing. Neurosurgeon Ariel Henry was appointed prime minister by Giovenel Moys a few days before he was killed. He said he-not the acting prime minister-should lead the country .

“After the president was assassinated, I became the highest, legal and regular authority because there was a decree nominating me,” Henry told Reuters in a telephone interview late on Friday.

However, Henry did not take the oath to succeed Joseph at the time of the assassination, which left people confused as to who was the legal leader of Haiti.

Claude Joseph was appointed interim prime minister in April after Joseph Chot’s resignation. He has so far been in power and led the government’s response to the assassination. Attract America Support and declaration 15-day “siege”.

Election Minister Matthias Pierre stated that Joseph will continue to hold this position until the presidential and legislative elections are held on September 26.

According to the 1987 Constitution of Haiti, the President of the Supreme Court should succeed the interim president.

But the amendment, which has not been unanimously recognized, stipulates that the prime minister shall be the prime minister, or that in the last year of the president’s term—as in the case of Moise—the parliament should elect the president.

On July 8, people reacted outside the police station in Port-au-Prince, where the suspect who killed President Jovenel Moise was held [File: Estailove St-Val/Reuters]

To further complicate the situation, the President of the Supreme Court died last month after contracting COVID-19 A surge in infectionsDue to political turmoil, the legislative elections originally scheduled for the end of 2019 have been postponed, so there is no parliament.

André Michel, a Haitian lawyer and leader of the political opposition, said on Friday night that “the solution to the political crisis must be resolved by Haitians, and to a large extent it must be in the political class, civil society, expatriates, and grassroots. Coordination among groups”.

“Any other process is unhealthy and will die when it arrives,” he said Tweet.