The World Briefly

February 22, 2024

Et Tu?

Haiti

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A judge in Haiti probing the killing of President Jovenel Moïse indicted a group of individuals that includes his widow, the former prime minister, and a police chief for involvement in the murder – the latest indictment related to the killing that set off the worst turmoil seen in modern times in the country, the Associated Press reported.

Haitians are struggling with growing gang violence, already present under Moïse’s presidency, and have recently taken to the streets to demand Prime Minister Ariel Henry to step down. Amid the situation described as anarchy, four judges successively tasked with investigating Moïse’s murder in July 2021 have since vacated their positions, some out of fear for their safety.

The incumbent prosecutor, Walther Wesser Voltaire, published a 122-page report in which he accused the former leader’s widow Martine Moïse and Claude Joseph, whom Jovenel Moïse had appointed as interim prime minister, of complicity and criminal association. The head of Haiti’s National Police at the time of the assassination, Léon Charles, faces more serious charges, including murder and conspiracy against the internal security of the state.

Voltaire based his accusations on testimony by witnesses, including the former secretary general of the National Palace, Lyonel Valbrun. Valbrun said that Martine Moïse, seen removing “a bunch of things” before her husband’s death, pressured him after the killing to open the presidential office to Joseph.

“The president told Ti Klod to create a council of ministers; he will hold elections in three months so I can become president, now we will have power,” Martine Moïse allegedly said in a phone call to Valbrun. While not confirmed in the report, “Ti Klod” is a known nickname for Claude Joseph.

Joseph criticized the report and accused current Prime Minister Aerial Henry of benefitting from Moïse’s death by pushing to prosecute political opponents. The newswire could not reach Martine Moïse and Léon Charles for comment.

Other people facing charges in the case are a former senator and Haitian-American citizens, while 40 people are currently in prison awaiting trial, including 20 former Colombian soldiers allegedly hired to kill the president.

US judges have indicted 11 suspects and sentenced three, claiming Moïse’s assassination was the result of a plot hatched in Haiti and Florida.

Judge Voltaire also noted that the president “was assassinated with ease,” as he accused the police officer in charge of presidential security of receiving $80,000 to bribe colleagues “to remain inactive” on the night of the attack. Some officers were disarmed and handcuffed.

This story originally appeared in the February 22, 2024 newsletter, Running Out the Clock.