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For the next six months Slovenia will preside over the European Union, a body dedicated to the highest democratic values. But critics say that when it comes to upholding press freedom ideals, Slovenia is not up to scratch.

Two separate organizations, including the Council of Europe, released findings on what they say is a deteriorating situation for journalism.

In a memorandum on freedom of expression and media freedom in Slovenia, the COE’s commissioner for human rights, Dunja Mijatovic, said she was concerned about steps by authorities “that risk undermining the ability of critical voices to speak freely.”

The COE platform that documents threats and harassment of media registered 13 violations in the past year, compared with one the year before, the report said. The memo also cited physical attacks on journalists; a rise in hate speech, both online and from political representatives; polarization of public debate; and stigmatization of independent voices.

The Media Freedom Rapid Response group, a Europe-wide coalition that monitors violations, reported similar issues based on findings from conversations with journalists, academics and government officials.

“Over the last 14 months, independent journalism has come under sustained pressure on multiple fronts from the coalition government led by the Slovenian Democratic Party,” the MFRR said.

Slovenia’s center-right government dismissed the criticisms as “fake news.”

Prime Minister Janez Jansa responded to the COE report on Twitter, saying Mijatovic is “part of fake news network” and “spreading lies.”

Many journalists and academics who spoke with VOA believe that a hostile environment and uneven access to government officials and information is hurting audiences and presenting a threat to journalists.

Although most agree that conditions are better in Slovenia than in fellow EU member states Poland and Hungary – where media are under a significant clampdown – they say the country is declining along a similar path.

Renate Schroeder, director at the European Federation of Journalists, which contributed to the MFRR report, told VOA: “Is Slovenia becoming another Poland or Hungary? … No, not yet.”

There appears to be a drive to follow the same pattern as Hungary, “slowly but surely, and that I find very, very frightening,” added Schroeder, whose organization was involved in the MFRR research.

Findings that Schroeder said surprised her included the government’s decision to stop financing the national news agency STA, which receives about half its income from the state budget; polarization among journalists; and smear campaigns against critical journalists, which she says in some cases are led by the prime minister.

“This attack on the press agency is unprecedented, we do not have that in other countries,” said Schroeder. She added that Jansa is the first prime minister in Europe who “is doing smear campaigns …  in such a way by using Twitter.”

Some journalists have said Slovenia’s media are laboring under the harshest conditions since independence in 1991.

“The media situation has worsened very much under this government. I have been a journalist for 27 years, and we have never seen something like that,” Evgenija Carl, a prominent journalist with the state broadcaster RTV Slovenia, told VOA.

“We can see that many journalists are scared. They do reporting but are afraid to voice their own opinions. They have stopped participating in the social media for fear that as soon as they write something critical about the government they will be attacked,” Carl added.

Online attacks can be prompted by coverage of politics and alleged corruption, or even the amount of space given to specific articles. Jansa in October described STA as a “national shame” on Twitter after it gave more space to an article on a rapper’s album than Jansa’s meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, Viktor Orban.

Carl is one of two female journalists whom Jansa called “prostitutes” on Twitter in 2016, while leader of the opposition. The journalists filed a defamation suit against him.

Since 2018, Carl said, she has received three envelopes containing white powder and threatening letters mentioning the lawsuit.

Commissioner Mijatovic said in her memorandum that anonymous threats online and via phone, email and in letters, as well as in graffiti sprayed on media buildings, leave some journalists fearful for their safety.

Mijatovic’s office told VOA the commissioner could not comment on relations between the EU and the Slovenian presidency, but that she stood fully by her assessments and was “hopeful the government will use it in order to improve the situation related to media freedom and freedom of expression.”

In a response to the Council of Europe’s memorandum, the Ministries of Justice, Interior and Culture said that the current climate “cannot in any way be considered as an attack on the freedom and independence of journalistic work but represents a normal democratic process.”

Their response stressed that journalists should “not be exempt from criticism, particularly when they [sic] reports are untrue and they deliberately spread lies.”

The statement cited a potential “erosion of journalistic freedoms exclusively in private media,” and said owners of large media companies have an influence on journalists’ reporting.

Government officials have stated previously they believe large media companies are overly critical of the government.

The Ministry of Culture told VOA in a written statement that it explained to MFRR why the group’s findings were “a result of incorrect information,” but did not elaborate.

Some experts in Slovenia also believe that the COE and MFRR reports are not credible.

Matevz Tomsic, a professor of sociology and the president of the Association of Journalists and Publicists – one of three large journalist groups in the country – told VOA he was interviewed for both reports but that his views were not represented.

MFRR lists Tomsic’s name among those interviewed. The Council of Europe did not immediately confirm whether it had interviewed the academic.

“The media freedom has not worsened under the current government. The situation is similar to what it was under previous governments,” Tomsic said.

“It is possible that media which are favorable to the government get more advertising of state firms, but that has also been happening under the previous governments and is not unique to this one,” he added.

Schroeder, of the European Federation of Journalists, believes the EU should do more to prevent attacks on media freedom in its member states. But, she added, “legally speaking that is very difficult as they do not have the means, the tools.”
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Ethiopia’s media regulator is warning foreign news outlets that publishing specific references that it says mischaracterize the country’s war-torn northern Tigray region will be met with legal consequences.

“In reviewing and monitoring the news reports, the Ethiopian Media Authority [EMA] has found that some foreign media are repeatedly characterizing [the Tigray People’s Liberation Front – TPLF] as a national army by calling it the Tigray Defense Force or TDF,” said an official statement issued on agency letterhead Friday that was sent to VOA.

An earlier warning had been sent to at least two foreign media outlets.

The statement sent to VOA, signed by agency chief Yonatan Tesfaye Regassa, comes one day after the EMA revoked the license of the Addis Standard’s publisher, accusing the monthly magazine and news website of advancing the agenda of a “terrorist group,” without providing more specifics.

That “terrorist group” was thought to be the TPLF, which Addis Ababa has been battling in Ethiopia’s north since November, Reuters has reported. The TPLF is a former member of the coalition that ruled Ethiopia for more than 30 years. In May, Ethiopia designated the group a terrorist organization.

EMA officials on Thursday said they revoked the license over complaints that the Addis Standard was advancing “the terrorist group’s agency,” including by “legitimizing a terrorist group as a ‘Defense Force.’” The suspension drew outrage from global press freedom watchdogs, who’ve accused the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of taking an increasingly hard line against domestic news outlets covering the conflict.

‘A grave violation of Ethiopian law’

Friday’s warning directed at foreign outlets appeared to escalate TPLF coverage restrictions.

“Bearing in mind that Tigray is one of the federation units of Ethiopia that cannot have a force with that nomenclature [such as ‘Defense Force’] and as the country’s parliament has labeled TPLF a terrorist organization, the [EMA hereby] informs that use of such terminology violates Ethiopia’s territorial integrity, national interest and security,” Friday’s statement said.

Warning all foreign media against “using such characterization,” the statement said, “further use of the same terminology by any foreign media will be a grave violation of Ethiopian law, which will lead to stringent measures.”

When Prime Minister Ahmed came to power in 2018, it appeared that Ethiopia would shake off its reputation as having a repressive media environment, but conditions for journalists have worsened in the face of new political challenges, according to reports by multiple press freedom advocates.

Friday’s new coverage guidelines for the Tigray conflict come two weeks after police in the capital arrested about 20 journalists and staff from the independent broadcaster Awlo Media Center and YouTube-based broadcaster Ethio-Forum, both of which have been critical of the government.

The state-appointed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on Sunday said federal police had since released three of the journalists. 
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Martine Moise, the wife of Haiti’s assassinated president who was injured in the July 7 attack at their private home, returned to the Caribbean nation on Saturday following her release from a Miami hospital.Her arrival was unannounced and surprised many in the country of more than 11 million people still reeling from the assassination of Jovenel Moise in a raid authorities say involved Haitians, Haitian Americans and former Colombian soldiers.Martine Moise disembarked the flight at the Port-au-Prince airport wearing a black dress, a black bulletproof vest and a black face mask. Her right arm was in a black sling as she slowly walked down the steps of what appeared to be a private plane. She was greeted by interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph and other officials.Earlier this week, she tweeted from the Miami hospital that she could not believe her husband was gone “without saying a last word. This pain will never pass.”On Friday, government officials announced that Jovenel Moise’s funeral would be on July 23 in the northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien and that his wife was expected to attend.Group: Let chosen PM form governmentEarlier Saturday a key group of international diplomats issued a statement urging Ariel Henry, the designated prime minister, to form a government following Moise’s killing.Joseph has been leading Haiti with the backing of police and the military even though Moise had announced Joseph’s replacement a day before he was killed.Joseph and his allies argue that Henry was never sworn in, though he pledged to work with him and with Joseph Lambert, the head of Haiti’s inactive Senate.The statement was issued by the Core Group, which is made up of ambassadors from Germany, Brazil, Canada, Spain, the U.S., France, the European Union and representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States.The group called for the creation of “a consensual and inclusive government.””To this end, it strongly encourages the designated Prime Minister Ariel Henry to continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government,” the group said.U.S. officials could not be immediately reached for comment. A U.N. spokesman declined comment except to say that the U.N. is part of the group that issued the statement. An OAS spokesman said: “For the moment, there is nothing further to say other than what the statement says.”Henry and spokespeople for Joseph did not immediately return messages for comment.Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, said the statement was very confusing, especially after the U.N. representative had said that Joseph was in charge.The question of who should take over has been complicated by the fact Haiti’s parliament has not been functioning because a lack of elections meant most members’ terms had expired. And the head of the Supreme Court recently died of COVID-19.
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Former Haitian justice ministry official Joseph Felix Badio may have ordered the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise, the head of Colombia’s national police has said, citing a preliminary investigation into the killing. Moise was shot dead at his private residence in a suburb of Port-au-Prince before dawn on July 7.An investigation by Haitian and Colombian authorities, alongside Interpol, into Moise’s killing has revealed that Badio appeared to have given an order for the assassination three days before the attack, General Jorge Vargas said Friday at a news conference and in an audio message sent to news outlets by the police.It was not immediately possible to reach Badio for comment. His whereabouts are unknown.According to Vargas, the investigation found that Badio had ordered former Colombian soldiers Duberney Capador and German Rivera to kill Moise. The men had initially been contacted to carry out security services.”Several days before, apparently three, Joseph Felix Badio, who was a former official of [Haiti’s] ministry of justice, who worked in the anti-corruption unit with the general intelligence service, told Capador and Rivera that they had to assassinate the president of Haiti,” Vargas said.Vargas did not provide proof or give more details about where the information came from.Capador was killed and Rivera was captured by Haiti police in the aftermath of Moise’s killing, authorities have said.Alleged mastermindOn Sunday, Haitian authorities detained Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, widely described as a Florida-based doctor, and accused him of being one of the masterminds behind the killing.Former Haitian Senator John Joel Joseph is being sought by police after Haiti’s National Police Chief Leon Charles identified him as a key player in the plot, while Dimitri Herard, the head of palace security for Moise, has been arrested.”This is a big plot. A lot of people are part of it,” Haiti’s Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said in a news conference. “I am determined to move the investigation forward.”The group of assassins included 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, according to Haitian authorities. Eighteen of the Colombians have been captured, while five are on the run and three were killed.Many of the Colombians accused of involvement in the assassination went to the country as bodyguards, Colombian President Ivan Duque said Thursday. That has been confirmed by relatives and colleagues of some of the detained Colombians.”We are assisting in all the support tasks for the interviews that are being carried out with the captured Colombians,” Vargas said.Colombia will send a consular mission to Haiti as soon as it is approved by the Caribbean nation, Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister Marta Lucia Ramirez told journalists on Friday, to meet with the detained Colombians, ensure their rights are being respected, and move ahead with the repatriation of the remains of the deceased Colombians.The ministry is in daily contact with the families of the dead and detained, Ramirez added.
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Raul Castro was among thousands who attended a government-organized rally in Havana on Saturday to denounce the U.S. trade embargo and reaffirm their support for Cuba’s revolution, a week after unprecedented protests rocked the communist-run country.Government supporters gathered on the city’s seafront boulevard before dawn to wave Cuban flags and photos of late revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and his brother Raul. The latter retired as Communist Party leader in April but promised to continue fighting for the revolution as a “foot soldier.”The rally was a reaction to demonstrations that erupted nationwide last Sunday amid widespread shortages of basic goods, demands for political rights and the island nation’s worst coronavirus outbreak since the start of the pandemic.The government admitted some shortcomings this week but mostly blamed the protests on U.S.-financed “counter-revolutionaries” exploiting economic hardship caused by U.S. sanctions.President Miguel Diaz-Canel, who also heads the Communist Party, told the crowd that Cuba’s “enemy has once again thrown itself into destroying citizens’ sacred unity and tranquility.”He said it was no small matter to call a rally as the country saw increasing numbers of COVID cases: “We convened you to denounce once more the blockade, the aggression and terror.”‘Revolution will continue’Authorities said similar rallies were held nationwide.”This revolution will continue for a long time,” said Margaritza Arteaga, a state social worker who attended the rally in Havana.Workers had been convened by neighborhood block committees, known as the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, she said, and a state bus had picked her up at 4 a.m.Shortly before the rally in Havana officially began, authorities removed a man shouting anti-government slogans including “freedom” from the crowd.The number of those detained during or after protests has grown as new reports trickle in amid irregular outages in internet and messaging applications on the island, where the state has a monopoly on telecommunications.The latest tally from exiled rights group Cubalex put those detained at 450, although some have since been released. Activists have accused authorities of repression as some videos have emerged on social media of police beating protesters.The government has not yet given official figures for those detained although it has said it arrested those it suspected of instigating unpatriotic unrest or of carrying out vandalism. State television has broadcast images of people looting Cuba’s controversial dollar stores and overturning empty police cars.
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Afghanistan said Saturday the daughter of its ambassador to neighboring Pakistan was briefly abducted and “severely tortured” by unknown assailants.

A foreign ministry statement issued in Kabul condemned the incident, saying Silsila Alikhil was on her way home in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, when she was taken captive “for several hours” by unknown individuals.

“After being released from the kidnappers’ captivity, Ms. Alikhil is under medical care at the hospital,” the statement added.

Kabul urged the Pakistani government to immediately “identify and prosecute the perpetrators.” It demanded full security and protection for Afghan diplomatic missions, along with their staff and their families.

The ministry later said it summoned the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul and formally lodged “a strong protest” over the incident.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said the Afghan embassy had informed it that Alikhil “was assaulted while riding in a rented vehicle.” He noted in his statement that police immediately launched an investigation into “this disturbing incident,” and law enforcement agencies are trying to “trace and apprehend the culprits” to bring them to justice.

“Such incidents cannot and will not be tolerated,” Chaudhri said, adding that security of the Afghan ambassador and his family has been increased.

Traditionally strained diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in the wake of stepped-up attacks by Taliban insurgents against Afghan government forces amid the drawdown of U.S.-led forces in region.

Kabul has long accused Islamabad of allowing the Taliban to use Pakistani soil for directing insurgent attacks on the other side of the long border between the two countries.

Pakistani officials accuse the neighboring country of sheltering fugitive militants and allowing them to plot cross-border attacks in Pakistan.
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U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet is calling on Cuban authorities to release those arrested during mass demonstrations protesting the government’s failed economic policies.  These are the biggest anti-government demonstrations Cuba has seen for decades.  Thousands of people have come out to vent their anger at government policies, which have led to the economic collapse of this Caribbean island state.  Anti-government activists in Cuba estimate more than 100 protesters have been arrested during the weeklong demonstrations.  U.N. rights chief Michelle Bachelet is calling for the prompt release of those detained.Her spokeswoman, Liz Throssell, says Bachelet deplores the government arrest of people for exercising their rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, or freedom of opinion and expression.   “It is particularly worrying that these include individuals allegedly held incommunicado and people whose whereabouts are unknown,” Throssellsaid. “We are also very concerned at the alleged use of excessive force against demonstrators in Cuba and deeply regret the death of one protester in Havana.  It is important that there is an independent, transparent, effective investigation, and that those responsible are held accountable.”   Miguel Diaz-Canel became president of Cuba in 2018.  He is the first person other than the Castro brothers, Fidel, and Raoul, to rule this communist state in almost 60 years.  The economy under his guidance has taken a battering. People have come out en masse to show their displeasure at high food prices, shortages of medicine and other commodities, and at what they perceive to be government mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.  The government blames Cuba’s economic crisis on the decadeslong U.S. embargo. However, experts agree the government’s Soviet-style, centrally planned economy and lack of market reforms must share the blame for stifling the country’s economic growth.     Bachelet is urging the Cuban government to address the protesters’ grievances through dialogue and to respect peoples’ rights to protest peacefully.  She is calling for the Internet and social media, cut off by the government to quell dissent, to be restored.  Bachelet reiterates her appeal for the lifting of unilateral sectoral sanctions, which she says harm human rights, including the right to health.
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A commission composed of representatives of all sectors of Haitian civil society plans to meet Saturday, saying they want to begin the process of naming a new president.Organizers say the group plans to meet with 10 Haitian senators whose terms have not expired. Haiti’s parliament is currently out of session because the terms of most of its members ended before elections could be held to reelect or replace them.One of the organizers of the commission, Ted Saint Dic, said earlier this week that the commission’s effort would not be rushed.“We’re not in a hurry. We want to allow the country to find a way to enter into dialogue and agree on solutions that fundamentally address the biggest preoccupations of the Haitian people,” Saint Dic said.Haiti is facing a power vacuum following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.Several politicians have claimed the right to lead the country, including acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph and Prime Minister-designate Ariel Henry.Joseph assumed power after the death of Moise, however as an acting prime minister he was only in the position temporarily and was set to be replaced by Henry the week of the assassination. That transition did not take place because of Moise’s death.In addition, Haiti’s Senate has nominated Senate President Joseph Lambert to be interim president.Joseph told VOA Creole that “After the president was killed, someone in authority had to step in to take over. Nine days have passed and here we are. That is why I stepped up as interim prime minister to move forward along with the other government ministers.”Referring to himself along with Henry and Lambert, he said, “we have three leaders plus the other sectors — we have to put our heads together to find a solution. That’s what’s important. I am appealing to all sectors of society to unite to resolve this political crisis.”A U.S. delegation that traveled to Haiti earlier this week met with all three politicians claiming the right to lead Haiti.Laura Lochman, the State Department’s acting deputy assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs was part of the U.S. delegation, and told VOA in an exclusive interview Wednesday that the United States will support an inclusive, credible Haitian government.“It’s up to the Haitians to come up with the solution to this political process at this point, so we rely on them and give them all the support that we can to work conclusively, to work together, to form a consensus government,” Lochman said.She said the United States would like to see elections held in Haiti this year.Haiti’s parliament has been out of session since January 2020 when the terms of most of the legislature expired. Elections have not been held to select new members due to mass protests, the coronavirus pandemic and uncontrolled gang violence.Sandra Lemaire, Nike Ching and VOA Creole contributed to this report. 
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Haitian President Jovenel Moise will be buried on July 23 in the northern city of Cape Haitian, a member of the official funeral organization committee said Friday.”We have a logistical team who will evaluate the site where the funeral will be held,” Minister of Culture and Communication Pradel Anriquez, a member of the committee, told reporters during a news conference in Port-au-Prince. A schedule of events will be published soon, he said.Funeral planning committee members include interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph; the ministers of defense, culture and communication, and interior; the director of the Cabinet (chief of staff); the secretary-general of the presidency; and the director-general of the MUPANAH (Musée du Panthéon National Haitien).Anriquez said there are three events planned. On July 20, an official ceremony honoring the life of Moise will be held at the MUPANAH. He said the national palace protocol team is organizing that event.On July 22, the president’s wake will be held, Anriquez said. But he did not provide further details, adding only that “the public funeral of the president of the republic will be held in accordance with the wishes of the Moise family and also in accordance with the law.”First lady Martine Moise is being treated in Miami, Florida, for injuries suffered during the attack that killed her husband.Joseph said Friday that Martine Moise plans to return to Haiti for the funeral. He said that the first lady is in good condition and has been in constant contact with him since she arrived in Miami.Joseph also confirmed that a video message posted earlier this week on Martine Moise’s official Twitter account is authentic, along with subsequent tweets she posted this week of herself lying in a hospital bed.The interim prime minister said the slain president had expressed a desire to be buried next to his father in Haiti’s north. The details were included in an official government decree issued on March 11, 2020, pertaining to the burial of heads of state, Anriquez told reporters.”The Haitian government in its entirety is committed to giving the president a proper funeral,” he said.Ex-president Aristide back in HaitiElsewhere in the capital, a group of supporters of former President Jean Bertrand Aristide took to the streets to welcome him back to Haiti after undergoing treatment for an undisclosed illness in Cuba.Aristide fans waved Haitian flags, white flags, freshly picked tree branches, homemade signs and played traditional festive “rara” music as they waited to see him.”Welcome back, king. We have always said that Haiti is now paying for what happened in 1990, and as long as the constitutional order is not reestablished, the wound will remain. It is time to repair the divisions that exist,” a man who did not give his name told VOA Creole. “We are standing out here in front of the airport to extend our greetings.””The president who truly loved us and was the most capable leader to lead us was removed by the colonists in a coup d’etat. Hopefully, the Haitian people now see clearly what is going on,” another Aristide supporter, who stood on the side of the airport road to welcome the former president back to Haiti, told VOA.Aristide was Haiti’s first democratically elected president after dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier was removed from power in 1986.He governed Haiti from Feb. 7-Sept. 30, 1991, when he was deposed in a military coup. After living in exile in the United States for three years, he returned to lead Haiti in October 1994 until 1996.A year later, he created the Fanmi Lavalas (Lavalas Family) political party. He ran for president as its candidate and won in 2000. (Haiti’s constitution bars heads of state from holding consecutive terms.)In July 2001, Aristide was ousted in another military coup and lived in exile in South Africa until spring 2011, when he was allowed by then-President Michel Martelly to return to Port-au-Prince. He has mostly stayed out of the limelight, but his party remains active in politics.Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this story.
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At least seven Colombian nationals who were arrested by Haitian authorities in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moise received U.S. military or police training.A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation, told VOA Friday that all seven had been members of the Colombian military at the time they received the training.“Individuals had been approved for a variety of training activities held both in Colombia and the United States between 2001-2015,” the official said. “Examples of the types of training received were various types of military leadership and professional development training, emergency medical training, helicopter maintenance, and attendance at seminars on counternarcotics and counterterrorism.”BREAKING: US gvt official tells @VOANews that 7 of 25 individuals alleged to have been involved in the assassination of #Haiti’s President #Moise “previously participated in past US military training & education programs, while previously serving in the #Colombia|n military”— Jeff Seldin (@jseldin) July 16, 2021The official said both the State Department and the Department of Defense are continuing to review their records to see if any additional suspects in the assassination have ties to the U.S.“Their alleged involvement in this incident stands in stark contrast to outstanding conduct and performance of hundreds of thousands of foreign military students that have benefitted from U.S. education training programs over the past 40 years,” the official said.Word that a “small number” of the Colombian nationals in Haitian custody had gotten U.S. training first came Thursday, though a Pentagon spokesperson told VOA that any such training “emphasizes and promotes respect for human rights, compliance with the rule of law, and militaries subordinate to democratically elected civilian leadership.”Moise was shot and killed in the predawn hours of July 7 at his private residence in a wealthy suburb of Port-au-Prince. His wife, Martine, was injured in the attack and is recovering from surgery at a Miami, Florida, hospital.Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph told reporters that he has spoken to the first lady several times and that she is doing well.Haitian National Police Chief Leon Charles said 18 Colombians have been arrested in connection with the assassination.Colombia’s president told a local radio station Thursday that most of the detained Colombians had been duped into thinking they were to provide bodyguard services for the Haitian leader.“Once they were over there,” Ivan Duque said, “the information they were given changed,” and the men ended up as suspects in an assassination plot.New investigation detailsPolice Chief Charles said five Haitian police officers are currently in isolation because of their alleged involvement in the assassination plot. Investigators are questioning all police officers who were on duty when the attack occurred, he said.”We have 18 assailants under detention. Three were killed during the attack, and there are five Haitian Americans who we are taking a close look at,” the chief told reporters during a Friday press conference.”We are working both internally and externally with the assistance of our international partners to move the investigation forward. There are Interpol and FBI agents here on the ground to help us analyze evidence that will help us trace and identify the masterminds,” Charles said.The chief thanked civilians who had been helping law enforcement find those involved in the assassination. Police have received a lot of helpful tips every day so far, he said.Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, contributed to this story.
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The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday urged Cuba to release protesters and journalists who were arrested in anti-government protests sparked by shortages of basic goods such as food and medicine.”All those detained for exercising their rights must be promptly released,” Michelle Bachelet said in a statement.Bachelet expressed concern about the alleged use of force against protesters and the detention of a large number of people who included several journalists.A journalist who was arrested Monday while covering the protests for the Spanish daily newspaper ABC was released from police custody Friday but placed under house arrest, according to the newspaper.’I have done nothing wrong'”They wanted me to sign a paper saying I admitted to public disorder, but I refused. I have done nothing wrong,” ABC journalist Camille Acosta said, adding that she used her time in prison to interview other detainees.”You cannot imagine how many people have been arrested and beaten, even minors,” she said.Bachelet called for a probe into the death of a 36-year-old protester during clashes Monday between protesters and police in Havana. She also called for an end to sanctions against the Caribbean country, “given their negative impact on human rights, including the right to health.”FILE – President Joe Biden speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the East Room of the White House in Washington, July 15, 2021.Bachelet’s appeal to Cuba came one day after U.S. President Joe Biden said that Washington would review whether it could help restore the internet in Cuba, which has suffered blackouts since protests erupted over the weekend.“They’ve cut off access to the internet. We’re considering whether we have the technological ability to reinstate that access,” Biden told reporters at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.At a regular White House media briefing Friday, press secretary Jen Psaki was asked if the Biden administration had asked American tech companies for help in restoring internet access in Cuba.“So, it would really be led, that effort would really be led by the State Department and other appropriate entities within the federal government. As the president noted yesterday, returning internet access to Cuba would certainly be something we’d love to be a part of,” she said.A number of U.S. lawmakers have urged the president in recent days to address connectivity issues on the island.FILE – Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., takes notes during a Senate Judiciary Hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 14, 2021.Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn told VOA on Thursday that the Biden administration must support the Cuban people in concrete ways.“They’ve been very hesitant to step forward. And it appears that what they’re trying to do is not take sides in a fight,” Blackburn said.“Time is of the essence here,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, according to Reuters. “Every day that the regime has to black out the truth is a day they can get the upper hand on this,” he said of the Cuban government.Watchdog’s statementGlobal internet watchdog NetBlocks has confirmed restrictions to multiple social media and messaging platforms across Cuba over the past week.“The targeted restrictions are likely to limit the flow of information from Cuba following widespread protests on Sunday as thousands rallied against the socialist government’s policies and rising prices,” the organization said in a statement.Earlier Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced a 16-member Cuba advisory group to develop policies to support the Cuban protesters and hold the Cuban government accountable for human rights abuses.“I know this team, many of whom are Cuban American and in one way or another have borne witness to the brutality of communism, will work diligently for the cause of freedom,” McCarthy said in a statement.European leaders have also expressed their support for the Cuban people. On Monday, the foreign minister for the European Union, Josep Borrell, urged the Cuban government “to listen to these protests of discontent.”Global Support for Cuba Demonstrations Politicians and activists praise Sunday’s ‘historic’ protests, urge Cuban government to respect human rights of its people    Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel and other officials have blamed the unrest on social media postings by Cuban Americans and the U.S. government’s decadeslong embargo on Cuba. Sanctions and restrictions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and a drop in tourism related to the pandemic have put extra pressure on the Cuban economy in recent years.Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expressed his government’s support for Diaz-Canel on Monday and said, “If the U.S. really wants to help Cuba, let it immediately lift the sanctions and the blockade against its people.”The protests were the largest anti-government demonstrations in Cuba in decades.VOA’s Katherine Gypson, Jessica Jerreat and Patsy Widakuswara contributed to this report, which includes some information from Reuters.
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President Joe Biden says, while he is not open to U.S. military involvement in Haiti, he is planning to send troops to fortify the U.S. Embassy in the capital, Port-au-Prince.  
 
“We’re only sending American Marines to our embassy,” Biden said Thursday, during a joint news conference with visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “The idea of sending American forces to Haiti is not on the agenda.”  
 
Haitian President Jovenel Moise was shot and killed in the pre-dawn hours of July 7 at his private residence in a wealthy suburb of Port-au-Prince. His wife, Martine, was injured in the attack and is recovering from surgery at a Miami, Florida, hospital.  Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph told reporters he has spoken to the first lady several times and that she is doing well.VOA Interview: State Official Says ‘Nothing Off Table’ With Assisting HaitiActing deputy secretary also says delivery of first tranche of COVID-19 vaccines ‘imminent’  
President Biden has condemned the assassination and dispatched a special U.S. delegation to Haiti to assist with the investigation.   
 
Last week, Haiti Elections Minister Mathias Pierre said a request that U.S. troops be deployed to the country was made during a July 7 discussion between Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Pierre said Joseph made a request for U.N. troops with the U.N. Security Council on July 8.  
 
In an exclusive interview with VOA, Juan Gonzalez, the U.S. National Security Council senior director for the Western Hemisphere, said the subject did come up during their discussions with Haitian officials.  
 
“There has not been a specific ask for a number of troops or a specific number of support of individuals providing security,” Gonzalez told VOA. “So, we’ve been focusing on the very specific asks which have been how do we actually help train and support and equip the Haitian National Police do its job. They have 13,500 officers – so focusing on where the needs are and of course it’s something we’re going to continue to study because of course the situation on the ground is quickly evolving.”Official: Aristide to Return to Haiti ‘Fully Recovered’Aristide’s return adds a potentially volatile element to an already tense situation in a country facing a power vacuum following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. 
Gonzalez, who traveled to Port-au-Prince on Sunday, said U.S. officials are in constant contact with their international community counterparts.  
 
“We are also in regular contact with our international partners – including France, the leadership of the Caribbean community, the Dominican Republic and of course we’ve been active on the U.N. Security Council. Ambassador Linda Thomas [Greenfield] has actively been in contact with our counterparts, so it’s not something that is just the United States, but the international community all are uniting behind the Haitian people,” he told VOA.  The deployment of U.N. police or peacekeeping troops would have to be approved by the Security Council.  The U.N. had a stabilization mission in the country from 2004 to 2017.  Diplomats said that there is currently little appetite for sending a new mission to Haiti.
The NSC official said there is a team of eight FBI agents on the ground in Haiti, assisting with the investigation into president Moise’s murder.  
 
“A number of officials from the Department of Homeland Security are helping on everything from tracing the weapons to the body armor and the cellphones that were being used and do everything possible to get to the bottom of who was involved and who is responsible for the assassination,” Gonzalez said.
 
A VOA Creole reporter saw FBI agents in the wealthy Pelerin neighborhood of Haiti’s capital, where President Moise’s private residence is located. They were armed and working with Haitian law enforcement.  
 Murder investigation  
 
In Port-au-Prince, National Police Chief Leon Charles denied that interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph was involved in the Moise assassination plot.  
 
According to Charles, 27 people have been interrogated so far, and information gleaned from those interrogations found no connection between Joseph and the alleged murderers.  
 
The chief said Dimitri Herard, head of security at the National Palace, is in police custody. He has been placed in isolation and has been relieved of his duties, Charles said. Herard will remain in isolation until he is questioned by investigators, the chief said, without specifying exactly where in the capital Herard is being held.   
 
The police chief said 23 suspects are being interrogated—two Haitian Americans, three Haitians and 18 Colombians. Three others who participated in the attack on the president were killed, he said.  Pentagon: Some Colombians Arrested in Moise Assassination Probe Received US Military Training National Security Council official who traveled to Haiti last Sunday tells VOA the US is prepared to prosecute anyone found to have broken US laws  Reaction in Haiti’s north  
 
In Wanament, the north and northeastern branch of the political party PLANSPA (Platfom Nasyonal Sekte Popile Ayisyen) held a press conference Thursday to denounce the assassination of president Moise.  
 
“The coordinators for the PLANSPA party for the north and northeast regions vehemently condemn this terrorist act. This is the first time such a crime has taken place in the country where a band of shameless criminals succeeded in assassinating a president in his home,” a party official said.
 
PLANSPA called for justice for President Moise and said members will keep pushing for that.  
 
In Gonaives, the most populous city in the agricultural Artibonite region, the Moise assassination remains a hot topic, according to VOA Creole’s reporter there. He says the city was tense on Monday with tires burning in the streets and gunshots heard. On Tuesday, daily activities had returned to normal. The reporter said the flag is flying at half-staff in honor of Moise and some government offices have been decorated in black, in a sign of mourning.  
 
According to the Moise family, the president desired to be buried in the north of Haiti, next to his father. Spanish reporter Jorge Agobian, White House correspondent Steve Herman, U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer, Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince, Jaudelet Junior Saint-Vil in Wanament, Exalus Mergenat in Gonaives contributed to this report.
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Peter R. de Vries, a renowned Dutch journalist who fearlessly reported on the violent underworld of the Netherlands and campaigned to breathe new life into cold cases, has died at age 64 after being shot in a brazen attack last week, his family said Thursday.

“Peter fought to the end, but was unable to win the battle,” the family said in a statement sent to Dutch media.

While the motive for de Vries’ shooting remains unknown, the July 6 attack on an Amsterdam street had the hallmarks of the gangland hits taking place with increasing regularity in the Dutch underworld the journalist covered.

Two suspects have been detained. Dutch police said the suspected shooter is a 21-year-old Dutchman, and a 35-year-old Polish man living in the Netherlands is accused of driving the getaway car. They were arrested not long after de Vries was wounded.

De Vries rose rapidly from a young cub reporter to become the Netherlands’ best-known journalist. He was a pillar of support for families of slain or missing children, a campaigner against injustice and a thorn in the side of gangsters.

“Peter has lived by his conviction: ‘On bended knee is no way to be free,’” the family statement said. “We are unbelievably proud of him and at the same time inconsolable.”

De Vries had been fighting for his life in an Amsterdam hospital since the attack. The statement said he died surrounded by loved ones and requested privacy for de Vries’ family and partner “to process his death in peace.” Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

The shooting happened after de Vries made one of his regular appearances on a current affairs television show. He had recently been an adviser and confidant for a witness in the trial of the alleged leader and other members of a crime gang that police described as an “oiled killing machine.”

The suspected gangland leader, Ridouan Taghi, was extradited to the Netherlands from Dubai in 2019. He remains jailed while standing trial along with 16 other suspects.

Caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte led the tributes to de Vries in the Netherlands.

“Peter R. de Vries was always dedicated, tenacious, afraid of nothing and no one. Always seeking the truth and standing up for justice,” Rutte said in a tweet. “And that makes it all the more dramatic that he himself has now become the victim of a great injustice.”

Dutch King Willem Alexander last week called the shooting of de Vries “an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our constitutional state and therefore also an attack on the rule of law.”

The slaying also struck a chord elsewhere in Europe, where murders of reporters are rare. The killings of journalists in Slovakia and Malta in recent years have raised concerns about reporters’ safety in developed, democratic societies.

In a tweet, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was “deeply saddened by the news of Peter R. de Vries’ passing. I want to express my condolences to his family and loved ones.”

She added: “Investigative journalists are vital to our democracies. We must do everything we can to protect them.”

De Vries won an International Emmy in 2008 for a television show he made about the disappearance of U.S. teenager Natalee Holloway while she was on holiday in the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba in 2005.

In 2018, while acting as a spokesman for the family of an 11-year-old boy who was abused and killed in 1998, de Vries appealed for tips about the whereabouts of a suspect identified in a DNA probe.

“I can’t live with the idea that he won’t be arrested,” de Vries said when appealing for help at a televised press conference. “I won’t rest until it happens.”

The suspect was arrested a few weeks later in Spain and convicted last year in the death of the boy, Nicky Verstappen.

De Vries’ comment about the suspect in Nicky’s slaying summed up the tenacity that was a cornerstone of a career that saw him report on some of the Netherlands’ most notorious crimes, including the 1983 kidnapping of beer magnate Freddy Heineken.

Acting on a tip, de Vries tracked down one of the kidnappers in Paraguay in 1994.

He befriended another of the kidnappers, Cor van Hout, who was later gunned down in Amsterdam. Another of the kidnappers, Willem Holleeder, who was van Hout’s brother-in-law, was convicted in 2019 of inciting the killings of van Hout and four other people. Holleeder was sentenced to life imprisonment.

De Vries also was known for tenaciously campaigning to find the truth behind the 1994 slaying of a 23-year-old woman, Christel Ambrosius. Two men from the town where she was killed were convicted in 1995 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, but de Vries refused to believe they were guilty.

They were acquitted in 2002, and in 2008, another man was convicted of Ambrosius’ killing.

Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus issued a statement calling de Vries “a brave man who lived without compromise. He would not allow himself to be intimidated by criminals.”

Grapperhaus said he “tracked down injustice throughout his life. By doing so he made an enormous contribution to our democratic state. He was part of its foundation.”
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US President Joe Biden hosted German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House on Thursday. The two leaders highlighted a stronger transatlantic relationship and cooperation on a range of issues, but differences remain on the Nord Stream 2 Russian natural gas pipeline. White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara has this report.
Producer: Barry Unger
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U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that Washington would review whether it could help restore the internet in Cuba, which has suffered blackouts since protests erupted over the weekend.

“They’ve cut off access to the internet. We’re considering whether we have the technological ability to reinstate that access,” Biden told reporters at a press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

A number of U.S. lawmakers have urged the president in recent days to address connectivity issues on the island, as protests over food and medicine shortages have rocked Havana, leaving at least one person dead and hundreds arrested.

Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn told VOA Thursday the Biden administration must support the Cuban people in concrete ways.

“They’ve been very hesitant to step forward. And it appears that what they’re trying to do is not take sides in a fight,” Blackburn said.

“Time is of the essence here,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, according to Reuters. “Every day that the regime has to black out the truth is a day they can get the upper hand on this,” he said of the Cuban government.

Global internet watchdog NetBlocks has confirmed restrictions to multiple social media and messaging platforms across Cuba over the past week.

“The targeted restrictions are likely to limit the flow of information from Cuba following widespread protests on Sunday as thousands rallied against the socialist government’s policies and rising prices,” the organization said in a statement. 

Earlier Thursday, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced a 16-member Cuba advisory group to develop policies to support the Cuban protesters and hold the Cuban government accountable for human rights abuses.

“I know this team, many of whom are Cuban American and in one way or another have borne witness to the brutality of communism, will work diligently for the cause of freedom,” McCarthy said in a statement.

European leaders have also expressed their support for the Cuban people. On Monday, the foreign minister for the European Union, Josep Borrell, urged the Cuban government “to listen to these protests of discontent.” 

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel and other officials have blamed the unrest on social media postings by Cuban Americans and the U.S. government’s decades-long embargo on Cuba. Sanctions and restrictions imposed by former U.S. President Donald Trump and a drop in tourism related to the pandemic have put extra pressure on the Cuban economy in recent years.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro expressed his government’s support for Díaz-Canel on Monday and said, “If the U.S. really wants to help Cuba, let it immediately lift the sanctions and the blockade against its people.”

The protests were the largest anti-government demonstrations in Cuba in decades.

Some information for this report came from Reuters.
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Spain has experienced a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the past month which have prompted authorities to impose fresh restrictions in many parts of the country.The 14-day coronavirus contagion rate was 469.50 per 100,000 of population, according to Spanish health ministry data released on Wednesday, making Spain’s one of the highest levels in Europe.Barcelona and the surrounding region of Catalonia plan to impose a curfew to curb the delta variant of the coronavirus, which is running rampant among younger, unvaccinated Spaniards.The Catalan regional authorities on Thursday were waiting for a judge to approve a nightly curfew after the two-week contagion level surpassed 1,000 cases per 100,000 people.Hospital staff treat a patient suffering from COVID-19 at Hospital del Mar, where an additional ward has been opened to deal with an increase in coronavirus patients in Barcelona, Spain, July 15, 2021.Possible paybackFor the Spanish state it also means a potential financial headache because 1.1 million fines imposed for breaking the state of emergency can now be appealed in court, meaning the government could be forced to refund the fines it imposed on some people. After the court ruling on Wednesday, Spain’s Justice Minister Pilar Llop told a press conference that said the original state of emergency “saved 450,000 lives.””The duty of the government was to take immediate, urgent measures when faced with the rapid propagation of the virus,” she added.Pablo Simón, a political analyst at the Carlos III University in Madrid, said the ruling had important implications for how Spain can control the pandemic. “All fines imposed can now be appealed which will cause financial implications for the government,” he told VOA.”According to the constitution, the state of exception can only be applied for 30 days. It was designed for public disturbances, not for pandemics.””Spain is left in a situation where it lacks a judicial instrument to impose limitations on personal liberties which are suited to a pandemic.” Delta variantRafael Bengoa, a former World Health Organization health systems director who is now the director of the Institute for Health and Strategy in Bilbao, said he believed Spain has been overwhelmed by the spread of the delta variant.“I said three weeks ago we would not control the delta variant. That variant is faster in everything; more transmissible, more virulent, when infected you reach higher viral loads sooner,” he told VOA.“Hospitals are beginning to fill up like they did in the UK with younger people. Vaccination is proving insufficient when there is community transmission and that can only be controlled with much tougher measures,” he said. “At present regional authorities must ask judges if they can bring in curfews, close bars etc but this is a sign of helplessness. Re-centralization of decisions would help to save the end of the summer,” Bengoa added. 
 
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A well-known Dutch crime reporter who was shot last week in Amsterdam has died.A statement from the family of Peter R. de Vries said the journalist “fought to the end but was unable to win the battle.””Peter has lived by his conviction: ‘On bended knee is no way to be free,'” the statement said. “We are unbelievably proud of him, and at the same time, inconsolable.””Peter R. de Vries was always dedicated, tenacious, afraid of nothing and no one. Always seeking the truth and standing up for justice,” Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in a tweet. “And that makes it all the more dramatic that he himself has now become the victim of a great injustice.”De Vries, 64, was struck in the head by one of five rounds fired as he left a television studio on July 6. Police arrested two suspects in connection with the shooting — a 21-year-old Dutchman suspected of being the shooter, and a 35-year-old Polish man accused of driving the getaway car.De Vries is a household name in the Netherlands, known for confronting gangsters and drug kingpins, and helping police disentangle high-profile homicides and solving cold cases like that of 11-year-old Nicky Verstappen, whose 1998 murder went unsolved for over 20 years. De Vries is also famed for his coverage of the abduction of brewing magnate Freddy Heineken in the 1980s. The reporter has long lived with death threats. Earlier this year, he told a magazine he wasn’t afraid, saying, “That’s part of the job.”  Local media say De Vries recently had been counseling a gangster-turned-witness identified as Nabil B., in the murder and racketeering trial of suspected drug kingpin Ridouan Taghi. One of Nabil B.’s lawyers was killed 18 months ago, and some Dutch media questioned whether the murder is linked to Taghi’s trial.The attack on De Vries came just months after TV crime reporter Giorgos Karaivaz was fatally shot outside his home in Athens. He was struck by at least half-a-dozen shots in April fired by a passenger on a motorbike.In February 2018, Slovak investigative reporter Ján Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová, were found shot to death in their home in Veľká Mača, western Slovakia. The 27-year-old reporter had been probing economic crimes involving high-profile Slovak businessmen with ties to politicians.  
 
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Some of the Colombian nationals detained by the Haitian National police in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moise took part in “U.S. military training and education programs,” a Pentagon spokesperson confirmed in a statement emailed to VOA.  The information came to light during a review of training databases, Lt. Col Ken Hoffman said, without specifying when or where the training took place.  “Our review is ongoing, so we do not have additional details at this time,” Hoffman said. The development was first reported by The Washington Post. According to the Pentagon, the U.S. Defense Department trains thousands of military people from South America, Central America and the Caribbean each year.  Hoffman said the training is focused on “respect for human rights, compliance with the rule of law, and militaries subordinate to democratically elected civilian leadership.”Haitian National Police Chief Leon Charles said police have arrested 18 Colombians in connection with the assassination.  Moise was shot and killed during an attack inside his private residence, located in a wealthy suburb of Port-au Prince, in the pre-dawn hours of July 7. His wife, Martine, who was injured in the attack, is recovering after undergoing surgery at a Miami, Florida, hospital. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph told reporters he has spoken to Mrs. Moise multiple times and that she is doing well. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, right, meets with Colombian Vice President and Foreign Minister, Marta Lucia Ramirez, at the US State Department in Washington on May 28, 2021.Colombian government on ‘mercenaries’  
 
In New York, Colombia’s Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Marta Lucia Ramirez denounced the involvement of Colombian nationals in the Moise assassination after a United Nations Security Council meeting Tuesday. “Let me say that the Colombian government, but also the judiciary system, is working with the Judiciary and intelligence from other countries in order to help the Haitian state to identify all the responsibilities in this crime — in this major crime,” Ramirez told reporters, adding that her country also is working with the International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol. “And of course, we are helping Interpol in order to have all the information, the track record about the time when they lived in Colombia, all the information about their communications, everything in order to clarify this horrible crime,” Ramirez said. “Everybody who is involved, everybody who was a physical or intellectual actor of this crime must be punished, and must be punished with an extreme and very high capacity of international justice and the Colombian justice and others.” New arrests  
 
In Port-au-Prince Thursday, Haiti’s national police announced the arrest of two additional suspects in connection with the assassination of President Moise. Police identified them as Haitians Reynaldo Corvington and Gilbert Dragon. Police say they found a cache of weapons at the homes of both suspects that included AR-15 rifles, automatic weapons, pistols and hunting rifles. Three hand grenades were found at Corvington’s residence, a police statement says.  Additionally, national police issued a new arrest warrant for Désir Gordon Phenil. A statement posted on PNH’s official Facebook page says Phenil was responsible for renting cars, coordinating meetings with the “mercenaries” and buying equipment.  On Wednesday, Dimitri Herard, head of security at the national palace, was taken into custody. VOA Creole reporters say Herard was scheduled to appear before a court inquiry in Port-au-Prince earlier Wednesday but failed to do so.  U.S. President Joe Biden meets with his Attorney General Merrick Garland, law enforcement officials, and community leaders to discuss gun violence reduction strategies at the White House in Washington, July 12, 2021.U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned the assassination. The president dispatched a special delegation to Haiti to assist with the investigation. The delegation includes officials from the State Department, Homeland Security, the Justice Department and the National Security Council.   Matiado Vilme in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report
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Haiti, reeling from the assassination of its president and the coronavirus pandemic, has received its first half-million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund said Thursday. UNICEF said in a statement the doses were donated by the U.S. and delivered Wednesday through COVAX, an initiative for the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. “Until yesterday, Haiti was the only country in the Americas without a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine,” Haiti was the only country in the Americas without a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. On July 14, 500,000 doses of vaccine donated by the U.S government through COVAX landed in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. (Photo: © UNICEF/UN0489198/Fils Guillau)The initial batch of vaccines came after the July 7 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise by an armed hit-squad in his heavily guarded private home. Moise’s death occurred amid a period of heightened political instability and gang violence in the country. His assassination has raised fears of another surge in COVID-19 cases, according to the Pan American Health Organization. U.S. President Joe Biden promised in June to deliver 80 million doses worldwide by the end of the month. His administration plans to donate an additional 500 million doses globally in the next year, and 200 million by the end of 2021. COVAX is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization and UNICEF. Margaret Besheer at the United Nations contributed to this report. Some information also came from Agence France-Presse and Associated Press.  
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