Friday the Chilean Captain Sanidad Max Wanner Espinoza, MD of the "Grupo de Helicópteros de la Fuerza Aérea" of Chile, a component of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was shot and wounded by an unknown gunman, confirmed Friday the Chilean Ministry of Defence.

"The incident occurred Friday around 0:10 am in Port-au-Prince. Sanidad Max Wanner Espinoza, was wounded by a bullet in the back, a shot who came from outside the base," says the Ministry. Captain Wanner was transferred to the Argentine hospital for first aid to stabilize his condition before being transferred by helicopter to a hospital in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to undergo a projectile extraction operation, according to the Chilean authorities.

This incident occurred two days after the bodies of two officers who were part of the UNPOL component of the UN mission, were found dead in their home in Cap Haitien, on the morning of December 30, 2015. The Minustah who opened an investigation, has not yet reported on the exact circumstances of their deaths. https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16197-icihaiti-flash-death-of-two-women-of-the-unpol-police-in-cap-haitien.html

Recall that in April 2015 a Chilean Sergeant Rodrigo Andrés Sanhueza, had lost life, hit by a bullet to the head, while on a trip to Ouanaminthe, in the context of an administrative mission and that violent demonstrations took place in this area https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13601-haiti-flash-extreme-tension-at-the-border-a-peacekeeper-shot-dead.html

Chile is part of the UN Mission since its inception in 2004. The Chilean contingent includes 500 peacekeepers in Haiti, to be added to others staff of Latin American countries, including Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

SL/ HaitiLibre