Agencies Port-au-Prince
Prince Port
Updated Tuesday, February 20, 2024-04:08
America The president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise, is shot to death
The judge investigating the July 2021 assassination of President
Jovenel Moïse
issued a final report on Monday formally indicting his widow Martine Moïse, former Prime Minister Claude Joseph and former
Haitian National
Police Director
Léon Charles. , among others.
The judge's accusations are expected to further destabilize a country already facing enormous difficulties due to an
uptick in gang violence
and which recently saw a series of protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Dozens of suspects were charged in the 122-page report released Monday by
Walther Wesser Voltaire,
the fifth judge to lead the investigation after previous judges resigned for various reasons, including fear of being killed.
Charles, who is now Haiti's permanent representative to the Organization of American States, faces
the most serious charges:
murder; attempted murder; illegal possession and carrying of weapons; conspiracy against the internal security of the State and criminal association.
For their part, Martine Moïse and Joseph are accused of complicity and criminal association.
Charles could not immediately be reached for comment, and Martine Moïse's lawyer did not return messages seeking comment.
Meanwhile, Joseph shared a statement with The Associated Press in which he accused Henry of "undermining" the investigation and profiting from the president's death.
"Henry... is using the Haitian justice system as a weapon, persecuting political opponents like me. It is a classic coup d'état," Joseph declared. "They failed to kill me and Martine Moïse on July 7, 2021, and now
they use the Haitian justice system to further their Machiavellian agenda."
Joseph again urged Henry to resign, noting that while he was still prime minister, he invited the FBI to help local authorities investigate the killing and wrote to the UN and OAS for help.
"I will not stop fighting. Justice must be done," he declared.
In his report, the judge highlighted that the former secretary general of the National Palace,
Lyonel Valbrun,
told the authorities that he received "strong pressure" from Martine Moïse to make the presidential office available to Joseph because he needed to "organize a council of ministers."
Valbrun also testified that, two days after her husband was murdered, Martine Moïse visited the National Palace and spent almost five hours there — from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. — removing "a lot of things."
He also said that two days after the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, Martin Moïse called him to tell him that
"Jovenel did nothing for us.
You have to open the office. The president told Ti Klod to create a council of ministers; he will lead hold elections in three months so that I can become president... now we will have power.
Although the document did not identify Ti Klod, former Prime Minister Claude Joseph is known by that name.
In his report, the judge also stated that Martine Moïse "hinted" that she took refuge under the bed to protect herself from the attackers, but noted that the authorities at the scene found that
"not even a giant rat... whose size It is between 35 and 45 centimeters" it could fit under the bed.
The judge said the former first lady's statements were "so vitiated by contradictions that they leave much to be desired, and discredit her."
Others facing charges, including murder, are:
Christian Emmanuel Sanon,
a mixed-Haitian and American pastor who considered himself Haiti's next president and who said he thought Moïse would only be detained;
Joseph Vincent
, a citizen of Haitian and American nationalities and former DEA informant;
Dimitri Hérard,
head of presidential security;
John Jöel Joseph,
a former Haitian senator; and
Windelle Coq,
a Haitian judge who, according to authorities, is a fugitive.
Sanon, Vincent and Joseph were extradited to the United States, where a total of 11 suspects face federal charges related to the assassination of the Haitian president.
Three of them have already been sentenced.
Meanwhile,
more than 40 suspects remain imprisoned in Haiti
awaiting trial, although it is not immediately clear how soon one will be held after Monday's formal indictments. Among them there are 20 former Colombian soldiers.
Milena Carmona, wife of Jheyner Alberto Carmona Flórez, told The Associated Press that her husband is innocent.
"What happens is that this crime is a conspiracy of great magnitude in which powerful people are behind it, managing everything, and that is why they are not given their freedom," he said, referring to the former Colombian soldiers.
US prosecutors have said it was
a plot orchestrated in Haiti and Florida
to hire mercenaries to kidnap or kill Moïse, who was 53 when he was murdered in his private home near the capital Port-au-Prince.
The attack began on the night of July 6 and ended on the 7th of the same month, according to witnesses.
Martine Moïse and other people who were questioned indicated that they heard
a large number of shots
that began around 1 in the morning and lasted for 30 or 45 minutes until the armed men broke into the presidential couple's room.
Moïse said she was lying on the ground when she heard the attackers shout:
"That's not it! That's not it! That's not it!"
He indicated that the suspects made a video call to identify the precise location of what they were looking for while killing the president. She added that she was lying face down when the suspects tilted her head and pulled on her toe "to make sure she wasn't alive."
Once they left, Moïse said she crawled on the ground and whispered to her husband that she would try to get to the hospital.
"It was then that he realized that the president was dead and that his left eye was protruding from the eye socket," according to the report.
Moïse said that a group of
between 30 and 50 police officers should guard the presidential residence,
but the judge highlighted that there were only a few that night. One agent told the judge he heard gunshots and a voice over a megaphone saying: "Don't shoot! It's a DEA operation! United States Army! We know how many agents are inside. Come out with both hands down."
Another police officer said that the first lady's security chief found her in "critical condition" and accompanied by her two children. She also stated that she saw an unknown number of people leaving the presidential residence
"with briefcases and several envelopes in their possession."
The report indicates that Inspector General André Vladimir Paraison said that the president called him at 1:46 in the morning and told him: "Paraison! Man, hurry up! I'm in trouble! Come quickly and save my life." . He added that he encountered heavily armed men and was unable to immediately enter the residence.
The judge's report noted that some of the police officers at the scene were disarmed and handcuffed, while others "had time to throw themselves down a ravine" in search of safety. Additionally, the police officer overseeing presidential security was accused of receiving
$80,000 to bribe certain officers
"to remain inactive" during the assassination, according to the report.
He also highlighted that "none of the police officers who provided security to the head of state were in danger. Unfortunately, the head of state was easily killed."