Martine Moïse renews calls for justice in assassination of President Jovenel Moïse

Former First Lady of Haiti Martine Moïse is again demanding justice for her husband, President Jovenel Moïse, more than three years after he was assassinated at the couple’s private residence on July 7, 2021.

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In a statement released this week, Moïse said her message has remained consistent.

“From the beginning of the year until this past month, our message has not changed. We continue to demand justice for Jovenel Moïse. Many of you may doubt this because justice in Haiti is not guaranteed,” she said.

Moïse, who survived the attack and later received medical treatment in the United States, argued that Haiti’s judicial system has been captured by powerful interests and is being used to manipulate political outcomes.

“President Jovenel Moïse has never ceased to denounce the system that holds the country’s justice system hostage,” she said. “They are using the judicial system to destroy President Jovenel Moïse’s character while he is still alive and to spit on his remains after he has been killed.”

She added that the justice system has been weaponized against those who demand accountability, saying people without influence face harsh treatment while those with means evade consequences.

References to Feb. 7, 2021, political crisis

Moïse also revisited the political tensions of February 7, 2021, when Haitian authorities announced they had foiled an alleged coup attempt. Twenty-three people were arrested that day, including a Supreme Court judge and a senior police officer.

“Where are the judges who issued the warrant against President Jovenel while he was carrying out the duties the people had entrusted to him? It was this same warrant they used to kill him,” she asked.

The former first lady questioned how a justice system she believes was involved in political persecution can be expected to deliver a fair investigation into her husband’s killing.

Moïse accused unnamed oligarchs, political actors and international interests of working together to maintain control over Haiti’s political system and undermine reforms championed by the late president.

She said those forces have fueled widespread instability and violence that has kept communities across the country in fear.

“Oligarchs, corrupt politicians, and globalist whites sacrificed the people by assassinating President Jovenel Moïse,” she said, claiming that some actors are now preparing strategies to “renew their hold on power” ahead of February 7.

Moïse described the current environment as one in which citizens in multiple regions are living under extreme pressure and insecurity, saying the scale of violence has left many Haitians feeling as though the country has lost its way.

Invoking historic Haitian figures including Boisrond-Tonnerre, Makandal, Boukman, Toussaint Louverture, and Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Moïse framed the struggle for justice as part of a larger national fight against oppression.

She quoted her late husband as once asking: “What will we do in the face of these criminals, these lawless bandits?”

According to Moïse, “the people have had enough. The time has come for the system to collapse.”

Martine Moïse has repeatedly insisted that the investigation into her husband’s assassination has been intentionally obstructed. Several suspects remain detained in Haiti, while a parallel case is proceeding in U.S. federal court.