The wife of the late Haitian president, Jovenel Moïse, recounted being shot and injured during his assassination in 2021 while testifying on Wednesday in the trial of four men charged with conspiracy in the case in a US federal court.
Martine Moïse took the stand in a Miami courtroom after giving testimony the day before. She was the first witness for the prosecution following opening statements by attorneys.
Jovenel Moïse was assassinated on July 7, 2021, when a group of around two dozen foreign mercenaries, primarily from Colombia, attacked his residence near Port-au-Prince, according to officials.
Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages are facing charges in a Miami federal court for allegedly conspiring in South Florida to abduct or kill Haiti's former leader.
The assassination of Jovenel Moïse triggered significant unrest in Haiti, where criminal gang leaders have become increasingly violent and emboldened.
During her testimony on Wednesday, Martine Moïse described in Creole how she went to bed around 10 p.m. the night before the attack and woke up to the sound of gunfire about three hours later. She recalled asking her husband what was happening, to which Jovenel Moïse responded, "Honey, we are dead."
As gunshots continued, she crawled downstairs to check on her adult children before returning to the bedroom where she and her husband sought cover on the floor on either side of the bed.
Martine Moïse recounted how armed men entered the room and opened fire with what sounded like an automatic weapon. She was hit multiple times, while her husband was fatally shot.
After the assailants left, she expected to find the security officers assigned to protect the house dead, but they had been paid to abandon their posts.
Martine Moïse was treated at a nearby hospital and later flown to a Miami hospital for surgery. She testified that her right arm is still disabled, and she continues to experience pain.
In response to questions from defense attorneys, Martine Moïse mentioned that she had fled Haiti for her safety as those responsible for her husband's death are now in power and have threatened her life. She has offered to provide information remotely but has been pressured to return to Haiti, where she fears for her safety.
The trial of the four defendants is ongoing, with the defense arguing that the investigation in Haiti was chaotic and that the accused were manipulated into taking the blame for an alleged internal coup.
Prosecutors claim that South Florida was a key location for planning and funding the plot to remove Moïse from power and install a replacement chosen by the conspirators.
Ortiz, Intriago, Veintemilla, and Solages face potential life sentences and have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them. Ortiz and Intriago were associated with Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, while Veintemilla was linked to Worldwide Capital Lending Group, both based in South Florida. Solages served as a CTU representative in Haiti.
The defense has suggested that the group believed they were working with FBI agents, US Embassy officials, and members of the Haitian government to lawfully arrest a president they considered to be a criminal.
The trial is expected to last over two months, with previous guilty pleas from five individuals resulting in life sentences, and another sentenced to nine years for providing body armor to the assassins. The trial of Christian Sanon, a dual Haitian-US citizen favored to replace Moïse, will be scheduled later.
Additionally, seventeen Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials are facing charges in Haiti related to the assassination, amid challenges posed by gang violence, death threats, and a struggling judicial system that have hindered the investigation.
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