WILLEMSTAD, Curaçao — Helmin Wiels, a prominent member of Curaçao’s coalition government, was shot dead by gunmen at the Marie Pompoen beach in the island.

Witnesses reported seeing attackers shoot Wiels and then speed off in a car. He is the first politician to die in that country in that fashion.

Wiels was the fiery leader of the Pueblo Soberano political party, which advocates for Curaçao’s independence. The island is a mostly autonomous “constituent country” of the Netherlands.

Wiels’ coalition Pueblo Soberano came into power last year October and was said to have been highly respected by the residents. Wiels himself was a social worker prior to entering politics about 10 years ago, and, through a weekly radio programme, was able to bring to light several issues affecting the country.

Yesterday, there were speculations that the parliamentarian could have been murdered because of utterances he made during his radio programme the night before. During the programme, he openly criticised members of the mafia, and other politicians.

As news of the parliamentarian’s death spread yesterday, many persons ventured to where his body was being processed. They wore sombre expressions as they talked amongst themselves in Papiamentu, the country’s native language.

At first, many of the residents clapped as the body was being carried away as a sign of respect, but shortly after, women, men and children alike broke down in tears with some running alongside the hearse to get a glimpse of the parliamentarian’s body.

“As you can see, people are very sad and mad,” said one resident.

There is now a cloud of uncertainty hovering over the country as his death is likely to trigger a constitutional crisis. Prior to his death, there were 11 parliamentarians of Wiel’s governing party and 10 parliamentarians in the opposition party.

— Additional reporting by The Associated Press