Haitian leaders jostle for influence with the U.S. after their president’s assassination.

The conflict for powerfulness successful Haiti aft the assassination of the country’s president has spilled onto K Street, wherever rival Haitian politicians, concern leaders and involvement groups are turning to lobbyists to wage an costly and escalating proxy conflict for power with the United States.

Documents, interviews and communications among Haitian politicians and officials amusement a scramble crossed a wide spectrum of interests to prosecute lobbyists and consultants successful Washington and usage those already connected their payrolls.

A radical substance chat successful the days aft the sidesplitting of President Jovenel Moïse that included Haitian officials, governmental figures and American lobbyists showed them strategizing astir countering American critics and imaginable rivals for the presidency and looking for ways to formed blasted for the killing, according to copies of the messages obtained by The New York Times and confirmed by immoderate of the participants. The chat began earlier the assassination and primitively included Mr. Moïse, though it appeared to instrumentality connected a much frenetic code aft helium was gunned down successful his location this month.

The texts and other documents assistance bring to beingness however lobbyists from firms including Mercury Public Affairs — which was paid astatine slightest $285,000 successful the 2nd fractional of past year by the Haitian authorities — are moving with allied politicians to presumption successors successful the aftermath of the assassination. In summation to Mercury, lobbying filings amusement that Haiti’s authorities is paying a full of $67,000 a period to 3 different lobbyists oregon their firms.