Wife of Ex-President of Haiti, Former PM Accused in His Murder

A court in Haiti investigating the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse indicted his widow, Martine Moïse, ex-Prime Minister Claude Joseph and the former chief of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, among others.

Dozens of suspects were indicted in the 122-page report issued by the judge Walther Wesser Voltaire. He is the fifth judge to lead the investigation after previous ones stepped down for various reasons.

Charles, who was police chief when Moïse was killed is Haiti’s permanent representative to the Organization of the American States. He faces charges of murder; attempted murder; possession and illegal carrying of weapons; conspiracy against the internal security of the state; and criminal association.

Meanwhile, Joseph and Martine Moïse, who were injured in the attack, are accused of complicity and criminal association.

The judge also stated in his report that Martine Moïse “suggested” she took refuge under the marital bed to protect herself from the attackers, but he noted that authorities at the scene found that not “even a giant rat whose size measures between 35 and 45 centimeters” could fit under the bed.

The judge said the former first lady’s statements were “so tainted with contradictions that they leave something to be desired and discredit her.”

Others who face charges including murder are Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-American pastor who visualized himself as Haiti’s next president; Joseph Vincent, a Haitian-American and former informant for the US Drug Enforcement Administration; Dimitri Hérard, presidential security chief; John Joël Joseph, a former Haitian senator; and Windelle Coq, a Haitian judge whom authorities say is a fugitive.