Overview:
Four years after President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination, Haiti’s Court of Appeals has annulled a contested indictment order and reopened the case. Judge Denis Cyprien has been appointed as the sixth magistrate to lead the investigation, as authorities seek to identify the masterminds behind the crime and bring them to justice.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Haiti’s Court of Appeals has reopened the investigation into the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, annulling a previously contested judicial order and assigning a new judge to pursue the long-stalled case.
In a ruling issued on Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, the Court overturned the indictment by investigating judge Walther Wesser Voltaire, citing procedural irregularities and failure to identify the masterminds behind the killing. Denis Cyprien, a career prosecutor in the system for almost two decades, has been appointed as the sixth investigating judge to handle the case, which has now dragged on for more than four years without a single trial.
“This is a shameful, unjust, and flawed order, intended to reward the assassins and my political opponents,” former Prime Minister Claude Joseph said earlier this year, referring to Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire’s now-overturned indictment.
The appeals court’s decision effectively resets the investigation, giving Haiti another chance to pursue justice in a case that had long been stalled.
The Court’s decision is being viewed as a crucial opportunity to revive Haiti’s most high-profile criminal investigation — one that has come to symbolize the country’s broken justice system.
President Jovenel Moïse was shot and killed at his private residence in Pèlerin on July 7, 2021, by a commando unit of former Colombian soldiers and Haitian American nationals posing as U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents. His wife, Martine Moïse, was wounded but survived the attack.
The investigation, riddled with political interference and corruption claims, has seen five judges come and go since 2021 — either dismissed, threatened or forced to step aside. None has been able to deliver a credible indictment, bring anyone to trial or identify the intellectual authors of the crime.
“This is a shameful, unjust, and flawed order, intended to reward the assassins and my political opponents.”
Former Prime Minister Claude Joseph
The new court order is significant because it overturns Voltaire’s controversial indictment, which many criticized as incomplete and politically motivated. It calls for the reconstruction of the case “in form and substance,” meaning that the new judge will reexamine evidence, hear witnesses again, and reassess the chain of command — from the alleged hitmen to the possible masterminds.
The flaws in the previous investigation
Judge Voltaire’s order, issued in early 2024, charged nearly 50 people, including:
- Former Prime Minister Claude Joseph
- Former National Police chief Léon Charles
- Former security chief Dimitri Hérard (currently on the run)
- Former Interior Ministry official Joseph Félix Badio, now detained
- Former presidential adviser Renald Lubérice
- Former First Lady Martine Moïse, accused of complicity
The ruling was widely criticized for contradictions and gaps, including its failure to specify the chain of command or motive. Defense attorneys and civil society groups said it focused on lower-level participants while overlooking those who financed and organized the plot.
Court maintains detentions, expands international cooperation: Why the new order matters
The Court upheld the detention of all suspects already in custody, including 17 Colombian nationals and several Haitian police officers. However, it authorized new international judicial cooperation with the United States and Canada to question key witnesses and suspects living abroad — a move many observers say could break the long stalemate.
Those to be questioned include former police chief Léon Charles, ex-Prime Minister Ariel Henry and members of Moïse’s family.
This cooperation agreement is seen as essential, as much of the financial and logistical planning for the assassination reportedly took place in South Florida, where companies and individuals tied to the case operated.
The reopening of the case signals a rare step toward accountability in a judicial system often paralyzed by corruption, fear, and political manipulation. For many Haitians, the Moïse case is not just about a president’s murder but about restoring public trust in institutions and ending impunity that has fueled decades of instability.
Since the killing, Haiti has spiraled deeper into crisis — its capital under gang control, its economy in collapse, and its governance paralyzed by competing political interests.
Four years, six judges, no trial in Haiti as parallel proceedings in the United States continue
Judge Cyprien now becomes the sixth magistrate assigned to the case, following a string of predecessors who faced obstacles ranging from death threats to corruption allegations.
- Mathieu Chanlatte withdrew over security concerns.
- Garry Orélien was dismissed amid bribery accusations.
- Chavannes Étienne stepped down after receiving threats.
- Merlan Bélabre never received the case file.
- Walther Voltaire was the last to issue an indictment, now annulled.
More than 40 suspects remain in custody, many without trial — a violation of Haiti’s procedural deadlines. Human rights organizations have condemned the prolonged detentions as another sign of the judiciary’s dysfunction.
While Haiti’s courts have yet to prosecute a single case domestically, U.S. authorities have moved faster. Eleven people were indicted in Florida for their roles in the transnational plot, five of whom have already received life sentences:
- Rodolphe Jaar, Haitian-Chilean businessman, for supplying weapons and logistics
- German Rivera, former Colombian colonel
- John Joël Joseph, former Haitian senator
- Joseph Vincent, Haitian American
- Mario Antonio Palacios, former Colombian soldier extradited from Jamaica
A sixth, Frederick Bergmann, was sentenced to nine years for illegally exporting bulletproof vests linked to the operation.
Six more defendants — including Venezuelan-American Antonio Emmanuel Intriago, Colombian Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Ecuadorian-American financier Walter Veintemilla, and Haitian Americans Christian Emmanuel Sanon and James Solages — are scheduled to stand trial in March 2026 after delays due to the case’s complexity.
Four years after the assassination, Haitians continue to wait for truth and accountability. For many, identifying who masterminded and financed the killing is crucial not only to justice for Moïse but to Haiti’s long-term democratic future.
In an Oct. 7 post marking 51 months since the brutal murder, former First Lady Martine Moïse reiterated her call for justice, accusing “terrorists” and “oligarchs” of orchestrating her husband’s murder.
“Just like the people, the president’s family is suffering. With patience, we will see justice prevail,” she wrote on X.
As Judge Cyprien begins his investigation, observers say his success will depend on independence, international cooperation, and political will — all of which have been lacking in previous attempts.
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