SHOCKING Revelation:
HAITI’S Former First Lady, MARTINE MOISE hired Hitmen to beat, kill HUSBAND for Fame, Wealth, presidency take-over-PROSECUTOR
…Arrest warrant issued for widow of slain Haiti President
*Accused give contradictory statements that suggest she was complicit
*Main suspect in custody alleged she aspired to steal her husband’s presidency
*Parallel investigations by United States Department of Justice and Haitian prosecutors have resulted in separate charges
*”We do not believe that she is or could ever be a suspect in the case”-Moise’s lawyer, Paul Turner
*”Haiti stand up, so that the social injustice done to the people can be repaired. I am innocent of the charges”-WIDOW
*QUOTE: “False words are not evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil”-PLATO
*BY JANE SIMON/SPECIAL International Correspondent, Trinidad & GEORGE ELIJAH OTUMU/AMERICA Senior Investigative Editor
FACTS have emerged from Haiti that the former First Lady of the country, MARTINE Moise is allegedly to have been found complicit in the death of her husband, slain former President Jovenel Moïse, who was shot in the head by a team of hired assassins for the purpose of wealth, fame and full takeover of the presidency.
The wife of Haiti’s assassinated president has been accused of being involved in her husband’s 2021 assassination, with a prosecutor suggesting she wanted his job for herself.
Martine, 49, was included in a 70-person indictment recommendation from the capital’s top prosecutor obtained by the New York Times, although she is not accused of directly planning her husband Jovenel Moise’s fatal shooting in July 2021.
Moise, who was also shot in the assassination, is instead accused of giving contradictory statements that allegedly suggest she was complicit – with a main suspect in custody accusing her of aspiring to steal her husband’s presidency.
The prosecutor who complied the report cannot file charges against Moise, with that decision left at the discretion of a judge who’ll now review the evidence.
Her lawyer has denied the allegations, and a separate US Department of Justice investigation reportedly has not issued any evidence suggesting her involvement.
‘We do not believe that she is or could ever be a suspect in the case,’ said Moise’s lawyer, Paul Turner. ‘She was a victim, just like her children that were there, and her husband.’ Other legal analysts have suggested the widow is a victim of Haiti’s corrupt political system.
Parallel investigations by the US Department of Justice and Haitian prosecutors have resulted in separate charges. Critics of the Haitian indictment claim it is politically motivated.
The slain president, Moise, was killed on July 7, 2021, by a gang of Colombian hitmen hired by a Miami-based security company, according to the Haitian investigation.
His security came under scrutiny for allegedly allowing the assassins into the presidential residence without resistance, and police failed to arrive in time after Moise called for 911 from his ransacked bedroom.
The president was severely beaten before he was shot dead on the scene, while the First Lady was also shot in the arms and thigh, and she claimed they only left after believing she was dead.
Haiti descended into chaos in the aftermath of the assassination, as political violence took over the nation’s government. No elections were ever carried out for Moise’s replacement.
In the absence of elections, the nation’s prime minister took over – with the second and current interim leader, Ariel Henry, accused of being involved in the assassination.
This included phone records reportedly showing Henry had spoken to a key conspirator directly before and after the shooting. He has denied any involvement.
The subsequent investigation by Haitian authorities concluded last week with Moise’s recommended indictment, alongside 70 others. It was filed by the capital Port-au-Prince’s public prosecutor, Edler Guillaume, a political appointee of the government.
The filing is not legally binding, and only recommends charges to be brought by an investigating judge, who can reject them if he chooses.
Legal analysts cited by the New York Times have scrutinized the shocking charges set to be filed against the former First Lady, seeing it as a weaponization of the legal system against a political enemy.
Some have seen it as a blatant attempt to direct speculation away from the government’s alleged involvement in the assassination, with former US special envoy to Haiti Dan Foote branding it ‘another bad act’ in the reaction to the shooting.
‘The fact that this government is running the investigation is bad enough,’ Mr. Foote said. ‘It’s not even close to independent.’
In total, Haitian authorities have already arrested 44 people over the assassination, including 20 Columbians, 19 Haitian law enforcement officers, and three members of Moise’s security detail – and are among the 70 named in the new prosecutor’s filing.
Separate to the Haitian investigation, prosecutors in the United States have brought charges against 11 men who allegedly carried out the plot.
Five pleaded guilty, and the remaining six defendants were set to have the former first lady testify at the trial later this year in South Florida. It is not clear how the recommended indictment may affect her involvement in the trial.
No evidence was provided in the indictment over Moise’s alleged scheme to kill her husband, and attorneys for those charged in Florida reportedly said the US Department of Justice has given no indication it suspects her of any crimes.
The charges that may be brought center around statements she gave in the aftermath of her husband’s death, although the filing reportedly did not specify what she said.
Her attorney countered that after her initial statement to police, she declined to return to Haiti for interviews with detectives over fears for her safety.
Turner added that US prosecutors ordered her not to speak about the assassination until she testified in their case in Florida.
While an arrest warrant was issued in October, and only made public a week ago, Turner added that Haitian authorities are unaware of her location and it is being kept under wraps for her security.
Brian Concannon, executive director of the human rights group Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti, also cast doubt over the legitimacy of the possible new charges.
‘It’s a system that is very subject to political manipulation,’ he told the Times. ‘You have a prime minister who already fired a previous prosecutor who asked too many awkward questions.’
In the face of scrutiny, Prime Minister Henry’s office denied any manipulation of the legal process and claimed the investigators operate independently.
‘The prime minister has no direct relationship with the examining magistrate, nor does he control him,’ said spokesman Jean-Junior Joseph.
‘The judge remains free to issue his order in accordance with the law and his conscience.’
The charges also name Henry’s predecessor, Claude Joseph, as ‘complicit’ in the assassination, which he countered with accusations the filing is a political hit job.
‘It makes no sense,’ he said.
‘Why would Martine Moïse have her husband killed in a massive plot involving 20 Colombian former soldiers when they live together and could find a million easier ways to get rid of him if she wanted to?’
*ARREST WARRANT ISSUED AGAINST WIDOW:
Meanwhile, an Haitian judge investigating the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse issued an arrest warrant for the widow for failing to meet with him so he could interrogate her about the case, according to a legal document leaked late Monday that The Associated Press obtained.
The warrant Oct. 25 and signed by Judge Walther Voltaire, who is overseeing an ongoing investigation into the killing that occurred at Moise’s private residence, where authorities say a group of heavily armed men shot him a dozen times and injured his wife, Martine Moise.
Martine Moise could not be immediately reached for comment, and a spokesman for an attorney of hers based in Florida said he was trying to reach the attorney.
Messages sent to people close to her went unanswered.
After the July 7, 2021 assassination, Martine Moise was airlifted to a hospital in Florida for treatment. She returned unannounced to Haiti less than two weeks later, surprising many. Since then, she is believed to be residing in the U.S. and has on occasion posted about the assassination on X, the platform formally known as Twitter.
In December, she wrote that the “assassins…feel that their reign of impunity and untouchability seems to be coming to an end.”
This month, she repeated her call for an international tribunal to investigate the case, writing, “Haiti stand up, so that the social injustice done to the people can be repaired. I am innocent of all allegation.”
In June last year, attorneys for Martine Moise filed a lawsuit against those accused in the killing seeking unspecified damages and a trial by jury.
Voltaire, the judge investigating the case, did not immediately respond to calls for comment.
He was appointed in May 2022 to oversee the case, becoming the fifth judge to do so. Previous judges have stepped down, including one who said he feared for his life and another who left a day after one of his assistants died under unclear circumstances.
The case has largely stalled in Haiti, where more than 40 suspects were arrested in the killing, including 18 Colombian soldiers and at least 20 Haitian police officers.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have prosecuted several extradited suspects in the case. Four of 11 suspects in Miami have pleaded guilty, including a retired Colombian army officer and a former Haitian senator.
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