This archive report was first published on 9 July 2021.
On July 7, 2021, Haiti President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his private residence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The attack occurred despite a contingent of Haitian National Police officers manning the leader's home.
According to Carl Henry Destin, the Pétion-Ville deputy chief judge, 12 high-calibre bullets were fired at Moïse, killing him instantly. Destin described the bullets as having been fired by experienced shooters.
Moïse's office and bedroom were ransacked during the attack. His wife, Martine Moïse, was also shot and flown to Miami, Florida for emergency medical attention. She is expected to survive.
Moïse's daughter, Jomarlie Jovenel Moïse, was at home during the attack but hid from the assassins in her brother's bedroom. Her brother and a maid were tied up during the attack.
Police recovered many 5.56- and 7.62-mm cartridge cases between the gatehouse and the interior of the residence. The raid was partially caught on tape.
Authorities have identified the heavily armed commando unit that assassinated Moise as comprising 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said initial findings indicated that Colombians suspected of taking part in the assassination were retired members of his country's armed forces.
Police tracked down the suspected assassins on Wednesday to a house near the scene of the crime in Petionville, a northern hillside suburb of Port-au-Prince. A gunfire exchange lasted into the night and authorities detained a number of suspects on Thursday.
Police boss Leon Charles paraded 17 men before journalists at a news conference late Thursday, showing a number of Colombian passports, assault rifles, machetes, walkie-talkies and materials including bolt cutters and hammers.
