Widow, ex-prime minister and former police chief indicted in 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president

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PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti —
A judge in Haiti responsible for investigating the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise has indicted his widow, Martine Moise; former Prime Minister Claude Joseph; and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, among others, according to a report obtained Monday.

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The indictment sheds little light on the motive for the assassination and how it was financed. It also does not provide any direct evidence of the former first lady’s involvement, relying on interviews with a key witness, former Justice Ministry official Joseph Felix Badio — who, according to the indictment, was working for the plotters who promised to nominate him minister of the interior after the president’s removal. Badio told the judge that Martine Moïse was part of the plot and wanted to become president.

Badio is in custody in Haiti, accused of helping orchestrate the assassination. Martine Moïse’s whereabouts are unknown.

After U.S. federal investigators launched their own investigation into the killing, 11 men have been accused of conspiring to kill Moïse, while six have pleaded guilty. The others are awaiting trial in Florida.

Haiti currently has no president or elected national officials and is roiled by gang violence. Monday’s report could further inflame tensions following a spate of recent violent protests demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

Henry’s critics, including Joseph, the former leader, suspect the indictment was politically motivated — a charge his office denied.

[Spokesman for Henry says the judge was independent. However, the judge is the fifth judge chosen for the role.]

In 2021, a top prosecutor sought charges against Henry, tapped to be prime minister by Moïse days before his death, citing telephone conversations Henry allegedly had hours after the assassination with Badio. Henry denied wrongdoing and fired the prosecutor.

 

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Haiti currently has no president or elected national officials and is roiled by gang violence.

Captain Renault reporting:

Guns and weapons trafficked from US fueling Haiti gang violence​

Experts say most guns smuggled from states with lax firearms laws such as Florida, Arizona and Georgia

“Easily accessible firearms from the US are one of several factors that are deepening Haiti’s instability,” Muggah said. “The abundance of high-powered rifles, handguns and ammunition is dramatically amplifying the power of criminal gangs who easily outgun Haiti’s depleted national police and modest security agencies. They are also playing a key role in driving-up high rates of sexual violence, violent assaults, kidnapping and internal displacement.”

A number of recent seizures have laid bare the relative ease with which traffickers operate. In February, US prosecutors secured guilty pleas for two senior members of the 400 Mawozo – the gang which became internationally notorious with a 2021 kidnapping of 17 Christian missionaries from Ohio who were visiting an orphanage in Port-au-Prince.

Investigators discovered an arsenal of at least 24 firearms including AK-47s, AR-15s, an M4 carbine rifle and a military grade .50 caliber sniper rifle, following purchases at several gun shops in the Florida cities of Miami, Orlando and Pompano Beach, according to an unsealed indictment.

Joly Germine, a 31-year-old leader of 400 Mawozo, directed specific requests for high-powered weapons via WhatsApp messages sent from a Haitian prison. The requests were made to US citizens in Florida, including Germain’s romantic partner, and the weapons were then stuffed in garbage bags, loaded into large barrels and hidden under “clothes, shoes and Gatorade” ready for shipment.

In July 2022, authorities in Haiti seized a haul of 17 semiautomatic weapons, a 12 gauge shotgun, four pistols and 15,000 rounds of ammunition stuffed in a shipment from Florida and bound for a Haitian Episcopal church, which enjoys certain customs exemptions.