Haiti's acting prime minister to step down amid post-assassination leadership dispute
19 July 2021
Haiti's acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph told the Washington Post on Monday that he will step down from the role, which had seen him serve as de facto leader of Haiti in the wake of President Jovenel Moïse's assassination earlier this month.
Why it matters: Joseph's decision to step down, which he said was “for the good of the nation," may resolve the leadership crisis set off by Moïse's death.
- Joseph will be succeeded by Ariel Henry, who was appointed as prime minister by Moïse two days before his assassination.
- Joseph previously claimed that Henry, who is backed by the international community, did not have the right to act as interim leader because he had not yet been sworn into the job when Moïse was killed.
What they're saying: "Everyone who knows me knows that I am not interested in this battle, or in any kind of power grab,” Joseph told the Post's Anthony Faiola. "The president was a friend to me. I am just interested in seeing justice for him."
The big picture: Joseph's decision to step down comes after the Core Group, an informal bloc of diplomats that includes representatives of the U.S., called on Henry to "continue the mission entrusted to him to form such a government" — appearing to withdraw its support for Joseph.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.