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Assassinated: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse cut down by mercenaries in his prime

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#Haiti, July 8, 2021 – First Lady Matine Moise has survived the attack on her home which killed her husband, the 58th president of the Republic of Haiti, Jovenel Moise. 

In a story which is heartbreaking, horrifying, angering, confusing and still developing there are many questions including how the assailants managed to infiltrate the usually heavy security surrounding the president.  Security Forces are layers thick; placed in his neighbourhood, on the compound of his home and within the house.  Yet, around 1 a.m. on Wednesday the commandoes got into the private home and gunned down 53-year-old Moïse, his wife was also struck by bullets. 

Now, the first lady is airlifted to medical care in South Florida and prayers are launched in hopes she will pull through despite having sustained critical injuries. 

Weeping has been reported to Magnetic Media… those who loved the president are mortified by the news.

Others who know of the volatility of Haiti which has erupted several times in politically driven protests said it was hot on the ground, and his assassination is not a huge surprise. 

Haiti has in recent years, under the leadership of Moïse has seen controversial and unpopular decisions made.  Old friends like Venezuela, disappointed.  A relationship with China abandoned in favour of Taiwan. New strategies to end food dependency and boost agriculture drawing warnings from the Dominican Republic; allegedly exploitive contracts and policies ended, which have offended the ‘Boujwazee’ and the Church.

Moïse was seen as a maverick, who did what other country leaders had failed to do, but his political naiveté may have cost him his life. President Moïse was also seen as a dictator who refused to demit office and hold a general election as constitutionally mandated.  The confirmation of the assassination came early this morning from the interim PM of Haiti, Claude Joseph. 

Joseph locked down the country; closing sea and air ports.  He barricaded the capital Port Au Prince; not allowing motor vehicles in or out.  Many guess that it must be in an attempt to capture the killers and they were right.  The border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti was closed following the attack. 

Haiti now also facing a possible conundrum as it is unclear how the country proceeds in terms of national leadership.  The acting Prime Minister, because he is “acting” may not be able to assume the role of President. There is no parliament, because constitutionally it had to be dissolved since January 2020 and the Supreme Court Justice, in recent month died, reportedly after contracting the coronavirus. 

On Monday, before his murder, President Moïse announced that he had identified a medical doctor – Ariel Henry – to take on the role of Prime Minister of Haiti.  A move he justified as necessary to guide Haiti through the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Henry would have been the seventh prime minister in four years and would have taken over as Prime Minister of Haiti at the end of this week.

Our news organization was informed there is no such thing as a vice president in Haiti; a change Moïse had hoped to bring if re-elected along with other constitutional changes which had been promoted in a referendum. Some of those amendments were criticised for seeking to give too much power to the executive. An election was announced for September in Haiti. 

Prime Minister Joseph has informed media that he is in charge of Haiti now. 

As for video circulating where you can hear the order to “stand down”, it is legitimate and it is said dark blue trucks pulled into the compound, men posing as United States D.E.A. officers came in and they were the ones who gunned down Moïse. 

“Barbaric”, “cowardly”, “worrisome”, and “atrocious” are among the descriptions of the way Jovenel Moïse met his untimely demise, coming from leaders around the region and around the world.

Turks and Caicos Premier, Washington Misick said it is horrific and “My prayer is that the perpetrators are found and held accountable for their malicious actions and that peaceful resolve and good order can arise from such a horrible tragedy.”   

The murder of Moïse is particularly shocking because civilized countries of the world have come a long way from times when assassination is the way to make the point or win an argument.

From our media house (Magnetic Media) which has spent decades covering the people, places and plans of Haiti, we extend our deepest condolences.

See pages 21, 22 and 23 in our photo tribute to the slain President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse.

Caribbean News

Haitian Pushback Halts Controversial Constitution Rewrite — What’s Next?

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Deandrea Hamilton | Editor

 

Haitian media, legal scholars and civic voices did what bullets and barricades couldn’t: they stopped a sweeping constitutional overhaul widely branded as anti-democratic.  Editorials and analyses tore into proposals to abolish the Senate, scrap the prime minister, shift to one-round presidential elections, expand presidential power, and open high office to dual-nationals—a package critics said would hard-wire dominance into the executive at a moment of near-lawless insecurity.

The Venice Commission—Europe’s top constitutional advisory body—didn’t mince words either. In a formal opinion requested by Haiti’s provisional electoral authorities, it pressed for clear legal safeguards and credible conditions before any referendum, including measures to prevent gang interference in the electoral process—an implicit rebuke of pushing a foundational rewrite amid a security collapse.

Facing that drumbeat, Haiti’s Transitional Presidential Council has now formally ended the constitutional-reform initiative. The decision, taken at a Council of Ministers meeting at the National Palace, effectively aborts the rewrite track that has haunted Haiti since the Moïse and Henry eras.

So what now? Per the Miami Herald, the pivot is back to basics: security first, elections next. That means stabilizing Port-au-Prince enough to run a vote, rebuilding the electoral timetable, and empowering the provisional electoral machinery—none of which is simple when gangs control vast chunks of the capital and state authority remains fragile. Recent headlines underline the risk: gunfire has disrupted top-level government meetings, a visceral reminder that constitutional theory means little without territorial control.

Bottom line: Haitian journalists and public intellectuals helped slam the brakes on a high-stakes centralization of power that lacked legitimacy and safe conditions. International constitutional experts added weight, and the transition authorities finally conceded reality. Now the fight shifts to making an election possible—clean rolls, secure polling, and credible oversight—under circumstances that are still hostile to democracy. If the state can’t guarantee basic safety, any ballot is theater. If it can, shelving the rewrite may prove the first real step back toward consent of the governed.

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Political Theatre? Caribbean Parliamentarians Walk Out on House Speaker

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By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media

 

October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.

For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.

October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts

The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader, led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.

The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.

Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.

The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.

October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit

Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.

The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.

“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”

The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.

Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”

“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”

A Pattern Emerging

While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.

In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.

Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.

Why It Matters

Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.

Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.

“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”

Restoring Balance

Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.

Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.

For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.

 

Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.

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Caribbean News

Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts celebrate a night of wins, and take home a total of 16 titles at the 32nd Annual World Travel Awards

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~Sandals Resorts hosts the 32nd Annual World Travel Awards Caribbean and The Americas Gala & celebrates its 32nd consecutive win as The Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand~

 

MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA, October 8, 2025 – Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts have been honoured with 16 awards at the 2025 World Travel Awards Caribbean and The Americas, underscoring their continued leadership across the hospitality landscape.

The Gala Ceremony held at Sandals Grande St. Lucian honoured the visionaries and trailblazers shaping the travel and tourism industry. The evening united government leaders and hospitality professionals for a night of celebration, recognition and inspiration.

Among celebratory toasts, Sandals Resorts International was named the Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand for the 32nd year in a row. Beaches Turks and Caicos also celebrated its 18th win as the Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort, a recognition that comes ahead of the debut of its Treasure Beach Village, the resort’s $150 million expansion set to open spring 2026.

Other key wins include Sandals Dunn’s River, recognized as the Caribbean’s Leading Luxury All-Inclusive Resort for the third year in a row after opening its doors in 2023 and Sandals South Coast, awarded the Caribbean’s Most Romantic Resort.

The 16 awards won under Sandals’ portfolio are:

  • Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand 2025: Sandals Resorts International
  • Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort 2025: Beaches Turks & Caicos
  • Caribbean’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Montego Bay, Jamaica
  • Caribbean’s Leading Dive Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Curaçao
  • Caribbean’s Leading Honeymoon Resort 2025: Sandals Grande St. Lucian
  • Caribbean’s Leading Luxury All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Dunn’s River, Jamaica
  • Caribbean’s Most Romantic Resort 2025: Sandals South Coast, Jamaica
  • Bahamas’ Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Bahamian
  • Curaçao’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Curaçao
  • Grenada’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Grenada
  • Jamaica’s Leading Adult-Only All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Negril
  • Jamaica’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort 2025: Beaches Negril
  • Jamaica’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Montego Bay
  • Jamaica’s Leading Resort 2025: Sandals Royal Caribbean
  • Saint Lucia’s Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Grande St. Lucian
  • Saint Vincent & The Grenadines’ Leading All-Inclusive Resort 2025: Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Surrounded by the beauty of Gros-Islet, St. Lucia, the peninsula location of Sandals Grande St. Lucian created the perfect backdrop for World Travel Awards’™ guests to enjoy an unforgettable dining experience and breathtaking island views.

“At the heart of every Sandals and Beaches vacation is pure, inviting Caribbean soul, paired with world-class hospitality experiences for all our guests. The recognitions bestowed to our brands tonight are truly meaningful. They serve as a testament to the incredible passion and dedication of our talented team members,” said Adam Stewart, Executive Chairman of Sandals Resorts. “It is yet another reminder of why we will never stop evolving, listening to our customers and refining our experiences year after year.”

For more information about these award-winning resorts, please visit www.sandals.com and www.beaches.com. For more information on the World Travel Awards™, please visit https://www.worldtravelawards.com/.

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