The widow of assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was among the 51 victims. was indicted Monday’s 2021 murder case marks a major step forward nearly three years after the incident.
Martine Moïse, former prime minister Claude Joseph, and Haiti’s former national police chief Leon Charles are the most high-profile of those charged, along with mercenaries and a number of the president’s associates involved in the attack. He is a worthy person.
Moïse was killed in June 2021 in a raid on his home in Port-au-Prince by a group of 28 foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombian. Martine Moise was also shot during the attack, but she survived. The president’s bodyguards were unharmed, raising suspicions that they were involved in the assassination.
The killing has plunged Haiti into political turmoil, and news of the arrest is expected to worsen the situation. The country is being torn apart by a surge in gang violence and violent protests demanding the resignation of Moïse’s eventual successor, acting president and prime minister Ariel Henry.
The 122-page report, which lists the charges, is the result of a years-long investigation with five judges, and previous judges have resigned from their duties over threats and intimidation against their families.
Charles faces the most serious charge of murder. Attempted murder. Possession and Unlawful Carrying of Weapons. Conspiracy against the internal security of a nation. and criminal organizations. He is said to be one of the masterminds of the assassination.
Martin Moyes and Joseph were charged with conspiracy and criminal conspiracy, saying they knew of the danger to the president before the assassination.
joseph told the Associated Press The investigation and prosecution are part of Henry’s efforts to centralize power in the Haitian government.
“Henry…is weaponizing the Haitian justice system and prosecuting political opponents like me. This is a classic coup,” Joseph said. “They failed to kill me and Martine Moise on July 7, 2021, and now they are trying to use the Haitian justice system to advance their Machiavellian agenda.”
He called on the FBI and other foreign agencies to conduct their own investigations into the killings.
“I will not stop fighting. Justice must be served,” he said.
Two Americans were among those charged in the assassination. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-American doctor and pastor living in Florida, and Joseph Vincent, also a Haitian-American, were to become Haiti’s next president under the plan.
Sanon and Vincent are among 11 suspects extradited to the United States on charges related to the assassination. Three people have already been sentenced.
The judge’s report alleges that the president’s security chief accepted an $80,000 bribe on the night of the assassination to weaken security and keep his subordinates out of harm’s way.
He said: “None of the police who provide security to the head of state were at risk.” Unfortunately, the head of state was easily assassinated. ”
Haiti’s political turmoil has only worsened since 2021, with extreme gang violence nearly forcing the US to close its embassy in Port-au-Prince. Haiti’s government announced last week that it is working towards completing a long-awaited Kenyan-led police force to quell gang violence in the city.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk recently noted that more than 800 people were killed, injured or kidnapped across Haiti in January, more than tripling the number compared to the same month in 2023.
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