Haiti in Shock as President Shot Dead

Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, was shot dead by unknown assailants at his home early morning on Wednesday.

The first lady Martine has also been seriously injured in the attack, the country’s Prime Minister Claude Joseph has confirmed in a statement.

Joseph has also said that he had taken charge of running the country, calling on the citizens to stay calm at this moment of crisis.

The government has ordered closed the Toussaint Louverture International Airport near Port-au-Prince in a bid to prevent the assailants from fleeing the country.

Moïse had refused to relinquish power despite having completed five years in office. And he was also accused of corruption.

The impoverished Caribbean country is due to vote in a referendum this September, with analysts calling it a tactic for the elected representatives to assume more executive power.

Gang violence has surged in Haiti in the past few years, with kidnappings becoming rampant in capital Port-au-Prince. However, no one thought that the country’s president would also become a victim of this growing crime.

The assailants of the president were speaking in Spanish, according to local media reports.

The Nearshore Connection

Nearshore Americas profiled the promising software group Noukod last year, which has emerged as one of a the leading IT-services exporters. Performance in contact centers and BPO has been mixed. The belief that Haiti is poised to exploit its tri-lingual (Spanish, French and English) skill sets has seen little concrete advancement.