Haiti’s government has requested that the United States send troops to protect key infrastructure after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse this week, the elections minister, Mathias Pierre, said on Friday.

Haitian officials said they had requested military support to protect port, airport and gasoline facilities and other key infrastructure, the New York Times reported.

The US state department confirmed the request but was non-committal on the US response.

“The Haitian government has requested security and investigative assistance, and we remain in regular contact with Haitian officials to discuss how the United States can assist,” a state department spokesperson said.

Separately, the White House said the US would send a delegation including senior FBI and homeland security officials to Haiti as soon as possible.

“Making sure we are providing resources, in terms of woman and manpower, but also financial resources, is part of what our objective is as well,” the White House spokesperson, Jen Psaki, said.

The Caribbean country has been mired in uncertainty since Moïse’s assassination early on Wednesday: parliament has long been suspended and two rival officials claimed to be interim prime minister.