Jovenel Moïse, Haiti’s embattled president, killed at 53

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, a former banana producer and political neophyte who ruled Haiti for more than four years as the country grew increasingly unstable under his watch, was killed on Wednesday. He was 53.

Moïse was assassinated at his private home during “a highly coordinated attack by a highly trained and heavily armed group,” interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said. His wife, Martine, was injured and remained hospitalized.

Haiti’s police chief says four suspected killers of President Jovenel Moïse have been fatally shot by police and two others arrested in an apparent hostage-taking situation. Léon Charles said late Wednesday that three police officers held hostage were freed. Joseph said the police and military were in control of security.

A businessman from northern Haiti, Moïse had no political experience before being hand-picked by former President Michel Martelly as the ruling Tet Kale party’s candidate in 2015 elections.

The soft-spoken Moise seemed like an unlikely politician, especially when compared to the showy and bombastic Martelly, a musician and entertainer. While not poor, he was also far from elite. His father was a small-time farmer and businessman. His mother helped sell their crops and worked as a seamstress.

“I come from the countryside; I’m not from Port-au-Prince,” he noted pointedly while on a visit to South Florida.

Campaigning under the nickname “Neg Bannan Nan” — “Banana Man” in Haitian Creole — he promoted achievements that included launching a banana-exporting joint venture with help from a $6 million loan approved by Martelly’s administration.

Moise won the 2015 presidential vote, but the results were thrown out following allegations of fraud, leading to the appointment of an interim president.