Jovenel Moise was the president of Haiti and he was assassinated at his home by a commando on Wednesday, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced, news agency AFP reported. Claude Joseph is now in charge of the nation. 

Jovenel Moise, killed at 53, was serving as the 42nd president of Haiti as he had emerged as the winner in the November 2016 election. He was assassinated by unknown residents at his home. 

He was ruling Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, by decree, after legislative elections due in 2018 were delayed in the wake of disputes, including on when his own term ends.

Jovenel Moise had been facing steep opposition from swathes of the population that deemed his mandate illegitimate, and he churned through a series of seven prime ministers in four years.

eople had been protesting against the Jovenel Moise government. The protests were initially fuelled last year against the rise of petrol and fuel prices. And in addition to the political crisis,  kidnappings for ransom have surged in recent months. 

Earlier his year, opposition leaders said that the five-year term should have ended on February 7, 2021, the day which marks five years when he was sworn in and his predecessor Michel Martelly had stepped down.