US dignitaries run for cover as gunshots mar Haiti president Jovenel Moise’s funeral
- Moise was gunned down in his home in Port-au-Prince on July 7, setting off a new political crisis in the Caribbean country
- High-level US delegation led by diplomat Linda Thomas-Greenfield returns home slightly earlier than expected after shootings outside the ceremony
The state funeral in the northern city of Cap-Haitien was intended to foster national unity, but the unrest reflected deep divisions over the July 7 atrocity, in which suspected foreign gunmen walked apparently unchallenged into the Moises’ residence and shot the president multiple times, also injuring his wife.
Acrid smoke from piles of burning tires and gutted autos blocking roads outside the compound where the ceremony was held billowed into the service, depositing black ash onto mourners.
Delivering an emotive address that switched between French and Creole, Moise’s widow Martine closed the ceremony with a call for justice for her husband, rounding on his critics and pledging to continue his efforts to build a fairer Haiti.
“The struggle isn’t over yet,” she said, her face nearly hidden under a wide-brimmed black hat, and her bandaged right arm in a sling. “He has already shown us the way. And he will be with us until we get there, even though the journey is long.”