Washington, July 9, (dpa/tca/GNA) – The Biden administration confirmed Thursday that it recognizes Claude Joseph as acting prime minister of Haiti and said it would help the Haitian National Police investigate the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Administration officials emphasized the need for democratic elections this year, as it became clear that a power struggle was taking shape between Joseph and Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon appointed prime minister by Moïse the day before he was killed.
Since the assassination, US officials have been in touch with Joseph, Henry and other officials in Haiti.
“The situation on the ground is evolving rapidly,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. “We remain in close contact with Haitian officials.”
“Claude Joseph was the incumbent in the position. He was serving as the acting prime minister before the assassination of President Moise. We continue to work with Claude Joseph as such,” Price said.
But Henry told the Miami Herald that the Biden administration is misinformed. “The information they have is inaccurate,” he said. “I am not the acting. I am the prime minister.”
President Joe Biden has pledged US assistance to Haiti, and administration officials said they were standing by for formal requests for aid amid the crisis, in addition to the request received for investigative assistance.
“We again stand ready to provide support, provide assistance, in any way that is formally requested by the government there,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a media briefing. “We’re looking forward to hearing from them on what they would request and how we can help them through this period of time.”
Those requests would come from Joseph’s office and the Biden administration said it would work with them going forward in the immediate aftermath of Moïse’s killing.
It became apparent Thursday that recognizing Joseph as acting prime minister could prove complicated for Washington, which has for months called for democratic elections by the end of the year.
But Washington made clear that it was working with Joseph as a partner on the ground to help get the country to elections, coordinate the investigation into Moise’s murder and deliver any other assistance the country requests.
“We’ve consistently urged the government of Haiti to organize free and fair presidential and legislative elections, and we continue to urge Haitian government officials and stakeholders to dialogue in the best interests of the Haitian people and to refrain from violence,” Price said. “This was precisely the message we heard yesterday from acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph.”
At the White House press briefing, Psaki was asked twice whether the administration recognizes Joseph as acting prime minister and did not use Joseph’s name in her response.
“We continue to support Haiti’s democratic institutions,” Psaki said. “We have been in touch with the acting prime minister, and we echo his call for calm.”
“But I would again reiterate that’s one of the reasons we have called for elections this year, and we believe that they should proceed,” she said. “Of course we are worried about, and closely monitoring, the security situation, the stability in Haiti, and understand that even before yesterday – but certainly as a result of yesterday, that is even more of a concern for the people who are living in the country.”
It is unclear what sort of additional assistance the United States might provide Haiti’s interim government.
A State Department official denied reports that US troops were being deployed to Haiti in order to help the Haitian National Police secure the country. “Those reports are false,” the official said.
But members of Congress are already pressing the administration to ensure that US Embassy staff in Port-au-Prince have enhanced security, fearing a protracted period of instability in the country.
The State Department would not outline new security measures taken at the US Embassy in Haiti. But Price noted the embassy “is restricting the movements of direct-hire US citizens and their family members until further notice.”
State Department officials briefed lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.
“In recent months, the Haitian people have suffered repeated setbacks to their security and the weakening of democratic governance,” Sen. Bob Menendez, chairman of the committee and a New Jersey Democrat, said in a statement.
“As the country grapples with the aftermath of this attack,” Menendez said, “the Haitian people deserve the opportunity to determine their future in a democratic election that is deemed credible by all sides and meets acceptable international standards.”
GNA