Former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide
On Monday, at around 2:00 in the afternoon, the motorcade of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, escorted by two police vehicles, was the subject of shooting attack, whose origin is unknown.
The incident occurred while Aristide was returning from a hearing as a witness before the investigating judge Jean Wilner Morin in relation to a money laundering case that involves the former commissioner of police, Jean Anthony Nazaire, HaitiLibre reported.
“Shots were fired directly at the vehicle in which President Aristide was,” said Ira Kurzban, a lawyer from Miami who represents Aristide, there was visible blood on the front right bumper and headlight of the vehicle, adding “Thank God no one was killed…”
“Aristide is unscathed, but a security guard was injured and at least one Lavalas sympathizer,” said a member of the board of Aristide’s political party, Famni Lavalas.
Mario Joseph, another of Aristide’s lawyers, described the attack as an “assassination attempt” on the former president.
Violent demonstrations by Aristide supporters took place in the streets of Port-au-Prince following news of the attack and stone throwing and clashes with police were reported.