A president murdered, as fear and confusion grip nation

Alix Pierre was watching television at his home in Port-au-Prince’s moneyed hillside suburbs when he heard strange voices in the night.

It was about 1am last Wednesday when the insomnia-stricken salesman heard prowlers outside, speaking in a mishmash of Spanish, English and Haitian Creole. Ten minutes later, he heard shots.

But in a gang-plagued city all too used to the crackle of gunfire, Pierre shrugged off the disturbance and returned to his film. “I wasn’t afraid,” he said. “I live in the same neighbourhood as the president. I said everything would be under control.”

As the sun rose over the seaside capital, it became clear that it was not.