Supreme Court Judge among several arrested in alleged plot to oust Haitian president

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Feb. 8, CMC – A Supreme Court judge was among several people arrested on Sunday for their role in an alleged plot to oust President Jovenel Moise .

According to Prime Minister Joseph Jouthe a senior police official was also among the 23 people detained with money, guns and ammunition.

“These people had contacted national palace security officials, high-ranking officers of the national palace whose mission was to arrest the president … and also to facilitate the installation of a new president,” Jouthe said during a press conference. 

The arrests were made after leading opposition figures announced a plan to replace Moise with a new head of state.

The opposition members have accused the president of being authoritarian and presiding over economic chaos.

 Moise, who recently announced plans to hold a referendum on amending the constitution, said the aim of those arrested was to make an “attempt on my life”.

Earlier on Sunday, anti-government demonstrators in Port-Au-Prince clashed with police, who responded with tear gas.

The opposition has called on members of civil society  to pick a new president from one of the sitting Supreme Court judges, instead of waiting for general elections scheduled for September.

Moise, who has ruled by decree since mid-January, has stated he would hand over power to the winner of the elections but would not step down until his term expires in 2022.

On Friday, the U.S. government called on the Haitian administration to hold talks to resolve the crisis and said that a new elected president should succeed President Moise when his term ends on February 2, 2022.”

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