By Anthony Faiola @ WashingtonPost.com, Feb. 8, at 5:50 p.m. EST

Haiti plunged deeper into a constitutional crisis on Monday, with rival claims to the presidency, allegations of a coup attempt and police deployed to the Supreme Court.

The political chaos in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country threatened to further undermine its teetering democracy, as fears mounted that the warring factions and their proxies — including the street gangs who control large swaths of Port-au-Prince, the capital — could push long-simmering violence to new levels.

“We are witnessing the making of a Somalia in the Americas,” said Ralph P. Chevry, a board member of the Haiti Center for Socio Economic Policy in Port-au-Prince.

On Monday, opponents seeking to end the rule of President Jovenel Moïse declared Supreme Court Judge Joseph Mécène Jean-Louis as interim president. The move came a day after Moïse said authorities had arrested 23 people linked to a failed coup to install a different Supreme Court judge, Yvcikel Dabresil. Dabresil was arrested early Sunday. “The coup failed,” Foreign Minister Claude Joseph told The Washington Post on Monday. “To our brothers in the opposition, our message is: Be patient. Wait your turn and use legal means.” The sides are embroiled in a long-running dispute over the length of Moïse’s term. The opposition says it ended Sunday. Moïse says he has another year [....]