The 122-page report by Judge Walther Voltaire, the fifth jurist in more than two years to oversee the probe into the 2021 killing, caps an investigation that had long been stalled and marred by death threats against judges and clerks and accusations of corruption and political interference.
It relies almost entirely on often-contradictory statements from suspects, and leaves several major questions unanswered. Among them: Who masterminded the brazen attack on the president in the leafy suburbs overlooking the Haitian capital, who funded it, and what was the motive?
Jovenel and Martine Moïse were both at home early on July 7 when uniformed gunmen, described by authorities as “commandos,” descended. They shot the president 12 times and gouged out his eyes, authorities said.
The assassination plunged this violent and impoverished Caribbean nation deeper into chaos. The presidency remains vacant; the parliament’s terms have expired. What’s left of the government is headed by Ariel Henry, the unelected and unloved prime minister appointed by Moïse days before his killing. The capital and parts of the countryside are controlled by armed gangs, who rape, kidnap and kill with impunity.
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, police detained more than 40 people, including ex-Colombian soldiers and members of Moïse’s security detail. They’ve since been held without charge to languish in some of the world’s most overcrowded prisons. Several of those who’ve been held were not indicted.
In the indictment, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, Voltaire notes that Moïse was supposed to be protected by several layers of security and yet the attackers were able to enter freely and leave without nary a “scratch.”
Voltaire accuses Martine Moïse of complicity in her husband’s assassination and associating with criminals. Voltaire does not present direct evidence of her involvement in the killing, but says her statements were “so tainted by contradictions” that they discredit her.
Martine Moïse’s lawyers at the South Florida-based firm of Perlman, Bajandas, Yevoli & Albright called the accusations against her and others a “Stalinesque move by a wannabe dictator.”
The former first lady “has no motivation for this attack, and her inclusion is supposedly based on her imperfect memory of the most traumatic night of her life,” when she “survived multiple gunshot wounds while her children were hiding for their lives.”
Voltaire levels the same charges against Claude Joseph, who was acting prime minister at the time of Moïse’s death, and Léon Charles, the former chief of Haiti’s National Police. Charles, who led the initial investigation of the assassination, is currently Haiti’s permanent representative to the Organization of American States.
Martine Moïse’s lawyers noted that the United States, which has charged 11 men in the killing and won the conviction so far of six, did not indict Moïse, Joseph or Charles.
Voltaire says Lyonel Valbrun, the former secretary general of the National Palace, told investigators that the former first lady arrived at the building two days before the assassination and spent hours removing some of her things.
She told Valbrun that her husband “hadn’t done anything for us,” Voltaire reported, and that with Joseph’s help, she wanted to arrange elections so that she could run and replace him.
The report casts doubt on Martine Moïse’s public accounts, including a claim that she hid under the couple’s bed to protect herself from the attackers. Investigators suggested that there was not enough space under the bed for a person to hide.
But it sheds little light on the alleged motive or funding. Many of the accusations rely on the testimony of Joseph Felix Badio, a former Justice Ministry official who was also indicted. Voltaire says Badio was allegedly working for the plotters, who promised to nominate him minister of the interior after the president was removed.
Badio has denied involvement in the assassination. He said he was working instead to infiltrate the plot. He was arrested in Port-au-Prince in October while grocery shopping. He told investigators that several people, including the former first lady, wanted to oust Moïse.
The indictments could further inflame tensions here.
Joseph, now the head of an opposition party, accused Henry of “weaponizing the Haitian justice system, prosecuting political opponents like me who has been leading peaceful protests across the whole country to force him to step down. …
“It’s a classic coup d’état.”
A spokesman for Henry said the prime minister has “no direct relationship with the examining magistrate, nor does he control him.”
“The judge remains free to issue his order in accordance with the law and his conscience,” spokesman Jean-Junior Joseph said.
In 2021, a top prosecutor sought charges against Henry, citing alleged telephone conversations between Henry and Badio in the hours after the assassination. Henry denied wrongdoing and fired the prosecutor.
Henry told investigators that he had received “countless” calls on the night of the assassination and did not remember speaking with Badio, Voltaire reported.
“There are many other friends who told me they spoke to me that day that I don’t remember,” Henry told investigators, according to the report.
Those who have been indicted may appeal the judge’s findings within 10 days of receiving a copy of the indictment.
Coletta reported from Toronto. Pannett reported from Wellington, New Zealand.
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