Biden ‘shocked, saddened' at horrific assassination of Haiti President

WASHINGTON

: Expressing shock at the horrific assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, US President Joe Biden on Wednesday offered his condolences to the people of the

Caribbean

nation.

The United States offers condolences to the people of Haiti, Biden said in a statement minutes before leaving for Illinois from the White House.

“We are shocked and saddened to hear of the horrific assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and the attack on First Lady Martine Moïse of Haiti,” he said.

“We condemn this heinous act, and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moïse's recovery.

“We stand ready to assist as we continue to work for a safe and secure Haiti,” Biden said.

Haiti's interim prime minister

Claude Joseph

condemned the president's assassination as a “hateful, inhumane and barbaric act and said that the police and military were in control of the country's security.

“The country's security situation is under the control of the

National Police of Haiti

and the

Armed Forces of Haiti

. Democracy and the republic will win,”

Joseph

said in a statement.