Former Haitian First Lady calls on US president to declassify documents on husband’s assassination

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – Martine Moïse, the widow of former Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, has appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump, requesting the declassification of all FBI and State Department documents related to her husband’s assassination on July 7, 2021.

In her letter, Martine draws a comparison between her husband’s presidency and Trump’s, highlighting similarities in the challenges both leaders faced. She notes that, like Trump, Jovenel Moïse undertook ambitious economic reforms aimed at addressing widespread corruption among Haiti’s oligarchs. Both leaders, she claims, were targeted by coordinated campaigns to undermine their reputations, as well as physical assassination attempts.

 “Unlike you, those attempts were successful and he was killed on July 7, 2021. On that day I was shot several times and left for dead while my kids sheltered in the other room. Since, I was the target of three assassination attempts.”

Moise said that the perpetrators of “this heinous act controlled the Executive and Judiciary branches of government and are ruling Haiti with the gangs,” adding that “the Haitian people want justice, peace and opportunity.

”As you root out corruption and waste in your government, please declassify all FBI, State Department documents related to my husband’s assassination. It’s also time for Haiti , in accordance with its constitution, to have a Prime Minister heading the Executive Branch (Art. 149) in order to destroy the gangs and organize free and fair elections for the return of constitutional order,” she added.

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In February 2023, four Florida men were arrested in the plot to kill Moise with the grand jury returning indictments against 11 people.

According to court documents, from at least February 2021 to July 2021, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust President Moise from power and replace him with someone who would serve the co-conspirators’ political goals and financial interests.

In October 2023, a retired Colombian army officer was sentenced to life in prison for his role in th2 2021 assassination of Moise.

German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, 45, also known as Colonel Mike, had pleaded guilty to conspiring and supporting a plot to kill the Haitian president.

According to court documents, he was part of a convoy headed to Moise’s private residence the day of the killing, after he relayed information that the plan was not to kidnap Moise but to kill him.

Several former Colombian military men remain in prison in Haiti awaiting trial.

In February last year, a Haitian judge investigating Moise’s assassination, charged his widow, the former prime minister and an ex-chief of police with complicity in the killing.

The 122-page leaked document, detailed how Moise’s widow, allegedly conspired with former prime minister Claude Joseph to kill the president, intending to replace him herself.

Meanwhile, the United States said it remains committed to supporting the Haitian people in achieving stability that can bring about a Haitian-led political solution through free and fair elections.

A statement issued by the US embassy in Haiti, said that critical equipment had been donated by the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) to Haiti.

It said that in addition to the equipment, INL has contributed other law enforcement tools to aid the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission working in coordination with the Haitian National Police (HNP) to continue combatting criminal gangs.

The embassy said contributions include armored personal carriers, various types of loaders, weapons, ammunition, day cabs, and other materials.

“A well-equipped HNP and MSS mission is critical to continuing the fight against gangs who aim to destabilize the country and feed their own selfish, criminal interests at the expense of fellow Haitians,” the statement said.

 

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