Justice officials in Haiti have asked the United States and Canada for assistance after a court of appeals ordered a new investigation into the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse — the third inquiry since he was gunned down at his private residence in July of that year.
The ruling, handed down Monday, overturns a 2023 indictment that had charged 51 people, including Moïse’s widow, Martine Moïse; former National Police Director Léon Charles; and former Prime Minister Claude Joseph.
According to Le Nouvelliste newspaper, the appeals court intends to seek international cooperation to question several key figures, including Charles, Martine Moïse, her son, and former Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The court also noted that the new investigation would begin “from scratch.”
Despite restarting the case, the court ordered that 17 former Colombian soldiers arrested in connection with the assassination — along with several Haitian suspects — remain in custody, defense attorney Nathalie Delisca told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Delisca said she would not challenge the ruling before Haiti’s Supreme Court, arguing that such an appeal would likely be futile. She also criticized the Haitian justice system, which she described as collapsing under corruption and gang violence.
“We are living in a deplorable situation,” she said, claiming that interpreters in the previous judicial proceedings misrepresented her clients’ statements. “Some judges even had the decency to note that the interpreters sometimes misrepresented the words of the people being questioned.”
Delisca added that missing documents and insufficient evidence against some defendants prompted the court to order a new investigation. Her request for the provisional release of the Colombian defendants was denied.
While the case continues to stall in Haiti, U.S. authorities have moved ahead with their own prosecutions. Eleven suspects extradited to the United States have been charged, with five already pleading guilty. The remaining defendants are expected to go to trial in March 2026.
