The morning of the assassination of the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, his wife, Martine Moïse, was also seriously injured.
The couple was resting in the marriage bed when an armed commando broke into the presidential house to commit the assassination that plunged the Caribbean country into instability and a deep political crisis.
Martine Moïse has gone from victim to involved in the investigation to clarify the causes of the president's murder.
Judge Walther Voltaire, in charge of the case, filed charges this Monday against 51 people, including the president's widow, the then Prime Minister, Claude Joseph, and the former head of the National Police, Léon Charles.
The new turn in the plot that keeps Haitians in suspense has been justified by the magistrate with “sufficient evidence” and “concordant charges” that show the responsibility of the accused in the crime.
Martine Moïse is accused of complicity and criminal association.
Voltaire has requested the prosecution of the accused "for the acts of criminal association, armed robbery, terrorism, murder and complicity in murder, crimes committed to the detriment of Jovenel Moïse."
The president's widow left Haiti and took refuge in Florida, United States.
He has affirmed in the few public statements that he has given that he is innocent and that he has been a victim of the attack that occurred in the early hours of July 7, 2021, when a heavily armed commando made up of former Colombian soldiers broke into the presidential house, in Port-au-Prince, and shot the couple.
According to the testimony given by the woman to the Haitian authorities, that morning "the presidential couple heard loud shots from automatic weapons that lasted 30 to 45 minutes before the attackers entered the room, where they shot them, murdered the president and the others. "The attackers left her for dead."
According to her story, Martine Moïse was left face down in her bedroom and one of the attackers touched her toes to ensure that she had been murdered.
Moïse's story is part of the 122-page accusation prepared by Judge Voltaire and published by the Haitian media
AyiboPost.
The magistrate stated that the widow's statements “are so riddled with contradictions that they leave much to be desired and discredit her.”
According to the accusation, one of the defendants declared during interrogation that Martine Moïse conspired with the former prime minister to overthrow the president and take over her position.
According to the document, the accusations against the former first lady “are sufficient” to charge her.
“There is serious and consistent evidence that could motivate charges for the acts of murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, detention and transportation of illegal weapons of war and ammunition, conspiracy against security, omission, complicity in murder and conspiracy to commit a crime.” charged to the accused,” the document reads.
To date, 20 Colombian citizens, 19 Haitian police officers, including officers in charge of the late president's security, and four individuals dressed in civilian clothes have been detained by Haitian authorities.
Authorities also seized more than 60 firearms of different calibers and eight vehicles used in the attack.
In June 2023, Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar was sentenced to life imprisonment by a United States federal judge.
The prosecution had accused Jaar of “conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death,” and maintained that “he was responsible for providing weapons to Colombian accomplices to facilitate the carrying out of the operation.” ”.
Jaar was arrested in the Dominican Republic in January and agreed to travel voluntarily to the United States, where in March of last year he pleaded guilty to providing support to the commando that assassinated the Haitian president.
Haiti is experiencing a nightmare of violence that the authorities are unable to confront.
The capital is a hotbed of gangs and armed groups that maintain a relentless war for territorial control.
Added to this is the misery that suffocates millions of people, has caused the internal displacement of hundreds of thousands of Haitians and a massive exodus of migrants who leave the country in search of better conditions.
The Government, for its part, remains in a perpetual crisis and instability, without the capacity to face the serious situation suffered by the Caribbean country and guarantee the well-being and security of its population.
The situation is so chaotic that the president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, has launched a desperate cry for help to “save” Haiti from the wave of violence it is suffering.
“Let us prevent Haiti from ending up devastated by chaos and anarchy, let us not allow the crisis that is being experienced there to expand throughout the region,” demanded the president after an intervention before the United Nations Security Council, in New York, at Half of February.
When asking UN members to reinforce aid to the Caribbean country, Abinader also issued a warning: “Our slogan from today on will be: Either we fight together to save Haiti or we will fight alone to protect the Dominican Republic!”
Follow all the information from El PAÍS América on
and
X
, or in our
weekly newsletter
.