President Donald Trump is sending a U.S. delegation to Haiti to attend the inauguration of President-elect Jovenel Moïse on Tuesday.
A White House statement says Under Secretary for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon will lead the Presidential delegation that also incudes the U.S. Ambassador to Haiti, Peter Mulrean, Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Kenneth Merten and Omarosa Manigault, the Assistant to the President and Director of Communications for the Office of Public Liaison.
Manigault was a contestant on the reality television show “The Celebrity Apprentice” when it was hosted by Trump.
Moïse, who ran for former President Michel Martelly’s Bald Heads Party (PHTK), won with nearly 56 percent of votes cast in the November 20 election.
In a recent interview with Reuters news agency, he drew parallels between himself and U.S. President Trump.
“President Trump and I are entrepreneurs, and all an entrepreneur wants is results,” Moïse said. “And therefore I hope we’ll put everything in place to make sure we deliver for our peoples.”
Moïse has said as president he would govern inclusively. “We have to work together,” he told VOA in an interview in Haiti’s capital on the eve of his election victory.
The Haitian businessman, 48, faces lingering suspicions related to his financial dealings. Late last month, he spent four hours in a closed Port-au-Prince courtroom answering questions about purported money laundering. He has denied the allegation, claiming it is politically motivated.
Carol Guensburg and VOA Creole Service chief Ronald Cesar contributed to this story