Widow, former PM charged in assassination of Haitian president

Haitian Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire charged roughly 50 people with involvement in Jovenel Moïse’s assassination and ordered their arrests. A 122-page indictment made public Monday by Haitian news outlet AyiboPost detailed the charges and lists the individuals targeted by them. The indictment alleges that Moïse’s widow conspired with former Prime Minister Claude Joseph and many others to murder her husband so she could take his place. Joseph has denied wrongdoing.

When did this man die? In July 2021, gunmen broke into the Moïse’s house in the city of Port-au-Prince. Moïse was shot to death in his bed. His wife was injured during the incident, as well. Six out of the 11 individuals facing federal U.S. charges have reportedly pleaded guilty to plotting to murder Moïse. The U.S. Justice Department last year said the men at first planned to kidnap the Haitian president but later changed plans, assassinating him.

Dig deeper: Listen to Mary Muncy’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about how one missionary is staying in Haiti despite the country’s rising gang violence.