PORT PRINCE: Haiti has asked Washington and the UN for troops to secure its ports, airport and other strategic sites after the assassination of president Jovenel Moise opened a power vacuum in the crisis-hit Caribbean nation, an official said on Friday.

The United States has already said it will send FBI and other agents to Port-au-Prince, two days after Moise was shot dead in his home.

In the wake of the slaying “we thought that mercenaries could destroy some infrastructure to create chaos ... During a conversation with the US secretary of state and the UN we made this request,” elections minister Mathias Pierre said.

The US State Department and Pentagon both confirmed receiving a request for “security and investigative assistance” and said officials remain in contact with Port-au-Prince, but did not specify whether military troops would be deployed.

The UN did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A UN diplomatic source had earlier indicated that a Security Council resolution was needed to do as the Haitians had asked.

Washington had already signaled its willingness to help the Haitian investigation, and White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki added that senior FBI and other officials would be heading to the Caribbean as soon as possible.

The development came as questions swirled about who could have masterminded the audacious assassination, with most members of a hit squad of Colombians and Americans either dead or in custody, and no clear motive made public.

Amid the uncertainty, three men are being touted as potential leaders of the nation of 11 million people, more than half of whom are under the age of 20. There is no working parliament.

After days of paralysis in the capital, Port-au-Prince saw the timid return of people to the streets, shops opening and the resumption of public transport on Friday morning — but under a pall of apprehension.

People scrambled to stockpile basic necessities at supermarkets and queued to buy propane for cooking in anticipation of more instability.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow or the day after ... I am preparing for bad days ahead,” Port-au-Prince resident Marjory said as she and her husband stocked up on supplies at a store.

Gang violence, rife in the former French colony, also picked up again, with clashes between groups paralysing a major highway.

The city’s airport, shuttered after the attack, appeared to have reopened, according to Flightradar data.

As the shock of the killing wore off, many in the poorest country in the Americas were demanding answers.

“Foreigners came to the country to perpetrate this crime. We, Haitians, are appalled,” a resident of the capital said. “We need to know who is behind this,” he added.

Police have said a 28-member hit squad of Colombians and Americans had carried out the attack, but that they were still seeking its masterminds.

Moise’s security team are in the hot seat and have been summoned to appear before the courts.

Others have speculated on the possible involvement of security agents in the killing, adding to the confusion.

“The president of the Republic, Jovenel Moise, was assassinated by his security agents,” former Haitian senator Steven Benoit said on Magik9 radio.

Published in Dawn, July 11th, 2021