On 7th July 2021, a group of mercenaries seized the residence of Haitian President Jovenel Moise and assassinated him. The details of what happened could well be part of a movie script. Preparations were made in Florida; the mercenaries were hired in Colombia, and the attack was carried out at night.

The assassination deepened the plight of the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. It ranks 170th out of 189 countries on the Human Development Index. Nineteen months later, details of the action are still emerging, involving 21 Colombian ex-military personnel, three of whom died that night.

In recent days, four of those arrested in Port-au-Prince for the crime have been sent to the United States to stand trial in the Southern District of Florida. They are three Haitians with American nationality and a Colombian who led the group of mercenaries. There are also three other defendants: two Haitians and another Colombian ex-military officer.

The Colombian who led the mercenaries and who is in the hands of the US justice system is former Colonel Germán Rivera, who declared that all those who participated in the operation knew what they were doing, contrary to the version of most of the Colombians involved, who claim that they were unaware that the purpose was to assassinate the president.

Regardless of the details of the motives, how Moise’s assassination was prepared and executed, and the threats against the five Haitian judges who have overseen the investigation, what is clear is that the Haitian population remains at the mercy of those who wish to harm it from different fronts, armed gangs and corruption.

Haiti is a failed state, and its population continues to show shameful indicators of misery and hunger. The political, social and economic plot against the country continues. It is adrift without real and effective support from other countries on the continent, despite the Government’s appeal to the United Nations for help.

On 24th January, the US Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, confirmed before the Security Council that he “continues to work to address the humanitarian crisis in Haiti, as well as the insecurity situation, and to support Haiti’s efforts to facilitate the political conditions that would lead to free and fair elections”.

In the same scenario, the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti, expressed its concern. Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez said that “we are willing to continue playing a good proximity role. But our involvement would be very different if there were concrete support from the international community to restore peace and security in Haiti.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that “it is urgent to deploy a specialized international armed force” in Haiti. However, in the Security Council, and not only now, there is no consensus on this measure.

Last October, the Security Council heard the voice of Jean Victor Geneus, the Haitian foreign Minister, who in one sentence summed up what is happening in his country: “I have the delicate mission of bringing before the Security Council the cry of anguish of an entire people who are suffering and to say in a loud and intelligible voice that Haitians are not living, they are surviving”.

Who will save the Haitians?