Haiti marks third anniversary of assassination of President Moise

Members of Haiti's transitional council on Sunday marked the third anniversary of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

Prime Minister Garry Conille, and nine members of the council attended a Mass celebration.

President Moise was shot 12 times when a squad of gunmen invaded his home in Port-au-Prince killing him and wounding his wife, Martine Moise on the 7th of July 2021.

Several people had been arrested, including 11 men now in U.S. custody.

Prosecutors in the U.S. have alleged that there was a broad plot among conspirators in both Haiti and Florida to hire mercenaries to remove Moïse and benefit from contracts from a successor administration.

Among the people arrested are 18 former Colombian soldiers who are in custody in Haiti.

The President of the Transitional Council, Edgard Leblanc Fils, said that the country became much more vulnerable after the death of Moise and that investigations will continue until all those involved are detained.

Since the assassination, Haiti has experienced a surge of gang violence that led the then-prime minister, Ariel Henry, to request the deployment of an armed force.

The first U.N.-backed contingent of foreign police arrived in Haiti in late June, nearly two years after the troubled Caribbean country urgently requested help to quell a surge in gang violence.

Gangs have taken control of 80% of the capital, displacing thousands of people including 300,000 children according to UNICEF.