Haiti issues arrest warrant against the widow of Ex-President Moïse

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti

A Haitian judge investigating the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse issued an arrest warrant for his wife late last year for failing to meet with him so he could interrogate her about the case, according to a legal document leaked late on Monday.

The warrant is dated Oct. 25 and signed by Judge Walther Voltaire, who is overseeing an ongoing investigation into the killing that occurred at Moïse’s private residence, where authorities say a group of heavily armed men shot him a dozen times and injured his wife, Martine Moïse.

The one-page warrant contains little detail except to say that authorities are seeking to interview Martine Moïse about the case.

It does not state nor suggest any involvement.

Martine Moïse could not be immediately reached for comment, and a spokesperson for an attorney of hers based in Florida said he was trying to reach her.

Messages sent to people close to her went unanswered.

After the July 7, 2021 assassination, Martine Moïse 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.”

In June last year, attorneys for Martine Moïse 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.