Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday offered condolences to the family of President Jovenel Moise and the people of Haiti and expressed sadness over the assassination.
“Saddened by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the attack on First Lady Martine Moise of Haiti. My Condolences to the family of President Moise and the people of Haiti,” tweeted PM.
He also tagged the Acting Prime Minister of Haiti Claude Joseph in his tweet.
Moise was assassinated at his private residence by a group of unnamed gunmen. After the assassination, Haiti declared a state of emergency.
His wife, First Lady Martine Moïse, is hospitalised.
The killing of Moise, and the wounding of his wife, was sure to bring more chaos to the unstable Caribbean country already beset by gang violence, soaring inflation and protests by opposition supporters who accused Moïse of increasing authoritarianism.
Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said the police and military were in control of security. The poorest country in the Americas, Haiti has a history of dictatorship and political upheaval. The streets of Port-au-Prince were empty and quiet.
As of Friday morning, the police have arrested at least 28 people, out of which two are of American origin. Twenty-six others are Colombians, national police director-general Leon Charles said at a news conference.
“We will strengthen our investigation and search techniques to intercept the other eight mercenaries,” Charles also said in the briefing.
On Thursday, police also tracked down a house of suspected assassins near the scene of the crime at Petionville in Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, where Moise was staying with his wife.