Official accusation: Martine Moïse faces charges in the murder of President Jovenel Moïse

Haiti.- Investigating Judge W. Voltaire is poised to issue a closure order as part of the ongoing investigation into the heinous murder of the late President Jovenel Moïse, which occurred on the night of July 6 to 7, 2021.

An unexpected revelation anticipated in this order concerns the alleged involvement of the first lady, Martine Moïse, in her husband’s murder, according to a judicial source.

On October 25, 2023, Judge Wasser W. Voltaire issued a trial order against Martine Moïse for her purported role in the assassination of her husband. However, this mandate, received by the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) on November 9, 2023, could not be executed as Martine Moïse sought refuge abroad, the source emphasized.

Martine Moïse declined to appear before the investigating judge overseeing the case. The widow of the president has consistently advocated for the establishment of an International Criminal Court (ICC) to handle the Moïse case, pursuing various procedures, particularly before the Organization of American States (OAS).

On December 19, 2023, a federal judge in Miami sentenced former Haitian senator John Joel Joseph, 51, to life in prison for his involvement in the 2021 conspiracy to assassinate President Jovenel Moïse. He becomes the third of 11 suspects arrested and charged in Miami to be convicted in this case, described by US prosecutors as a conspiracy originating in both Haiti and Florida. The plot involved hiring mercenaries to either kidnap or kill Moïse.

The other two individuals convicted in this case are Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar and retired Colombian army officer Germán Alejandro Rivera García, both receiving life imprisonment sentences. Joseph Vincent, a Haitian-American citizen and former confidential informant for the United States Drug Administration (DEA), pleaded guilty this month and awaits sentencing in February 2024.

Seven other defendants await trial this year in South Florida in connection with the same case. Meanwhile, Haitian justice has detained over 40 individuals for their alleged roles in the murder, yet no trials have been conducted thus far.