Earlier in the morning, journalists also reported seeing white men with assault rifles securing the tight space surrounding the National Palace grounds were administration officials would be attending. The presence of the foreigners continues to be condemned among the population.
But despite the security measures of a reported 22 foreign mercenaries, former U.S. military now working for Academi, the company formerly known as Blackwater Security Consulting, the Haitian Head of State was still unable to visit the country's cherished landmarks and give an address to the nation. Protests and calls by an overwhelming majority of Haitians for his resignation make such travel unadvisable.
As on earlier occasions, representatives from the other branches of government, the Legislative and Judicial branches, did not accept the invitation to attend the mitigated ceremony which included a visit to the pantheon museum, across the street from the National Palace, and a display by the paramilitary force not approved by Parliament on the National Palace grounds.