Haiti Prime Minister Survives Assassination Attempt

By NAN Staff Writer

News Americas, PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Mon. Jan. 2, 2021:  Haiti’s Prime Minister survived an assassination attempt Sunday, a day after the country marked its  218th anniversary of political independence and less than six months after the country’s president was murdered.

A wide scale investigation has been launched following the attempted assassination of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry with at lleast one person dead and several others injured in the city of Gonaives.

PM Henry and his entourage had insisted on attending a church service there to commemorate the independence.

Heavily armed gangs that control the area, fired in the direction of the official delegation as his security personnel returned fire.

The mass was held despite reported threats from the armed group, which warned Henry not to come to the city.

The prime minister was quickly removed from the area and the remaining events to celebrate Independence Day were cancelled.

Henry was installed on July 20, 221 as prime minister weeks after President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his home on July 7th. He has been focusing on  trying to clamp down on the increase in crime and violence across the country even as some have fingered him in the assassination of Moïse.