‘I Am Not a Dictator’ Haiti President Says After Announcing Foiled Coup Attempt – By Sandra Lemaire, Matiado Vilme, Renan Toussaint (VOA News) / Feb 7 2021
WASHINGTON/PORT-AU-PRINCE – “I am not a dictator,” Haitian President Jovenel Moise said during a national address Sunday, hours after announcing that the police had foiled a coup attempt and made more than 20 arrests.
Haitians woke Sunday to gunfire in areas near the national palace, and a high police presence was seen by VOA Creole reporters on the scene.
At midday, the president surprised the nation by going live on Facebook from the international airport in Port-au-Prince to announce a foiled coup attempt and the arrests.
The prime minister would give more details, the president said, before heading to the southern coastal town of Jacmel to inaugurate Carnival festivities. He was accompanied by his wife, first lady Martine Moise.
