Haiti's president Jovenel Moïse was assassinated early Wednesday morning.
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Claude Joseph, Haiti's acting prime minister, and Myrtha Desulme, President of the Haiti-Jamaica Society
Haiti's is now under a state of siege following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on Wednesday morning.
Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph made the declaration in a message to the nation.
Mr. Joseph said he did not want the nation to plunge into chaos. He urged the population to "remain calm" and appealed "to the intelligence of the Haitian people in these difficult times."
He said a preliminary investigation has determined that it was a "group of armed individuals, who spoke English and Spanish, who killed the president."
A state of siege means that all borders are closed and martial law temporarily imposed, with Haiti's military and the Haiti National Police empowered to enforce the law.
Mr. Joseph vowed to bring to justice to those involved in the president's assassination.
Gunmen reportedly invaded the Moïse's private residence just outside Port au Prince about 1 o'clock.
Mr. Moïse, who was 53, died at the scene.
First lady Martine Moise was badly injured in the attack and is being treated at hospital.
Earlier, Jamaica's Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith said Madame Moïse had died.
However, Haitian media are now reporting that she is alive and maybe flown out for treatment.
Mr. Moïse had been in power since February 2017, after his predecessor, Michel Martelly stepped down.
His time in office was rocky as he faced accusations of corruption and was challenged by waves of often violent anti-government protests.
Parliamentary elections should have been held in October 2019 but disputes have delayed them, meaning Mr. Moïse had been ruling by decree.
In February this year, on the day the opposition wanted him to leave office, Mr. Moïse said an attempt to kill him and overthrow the government had been foiled.
Years of political violence
Myrtha Desulme, President of the Haiti-Jamaica Society, has commented on the political violence that had been ongoing in Haiti for the last three years.
She noted that there had been "a lot of marches for the past few years asking the president to step down, even before his term ended, and of course, he had refused to do so."
She said gangs had taken over the country as lawlessness rained and murders, kidnappings and several high profile assassinations took place in recent years.
Ms Desulme said steps are being taken to ensure Haiti does not descend into civil war.
"We have to be careful that either the US or the UN does not use this as an excuse to send another occupation force as we had up to 2017 for about 15 years, and it turned out to be a catastrophic experience. So we hope and pray and are working very hard right now to ensure a civil war doesn't break out between these gangs."
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