The Haitian judge investigating the July 7, 2021, assassination of President Jovenel Moïse issued an arrest warrant for his wife Martine Moïse for failing to meet him so he could interrogate her about the case. As reported by the Miami Herald, a copy of the warrant signed by Judge Walther Voltaire and dated October 25, 2023, was posted on Haitian social media on Monday. According to the Associated Press, the one-page warrant contains little detail about the case and does not suggest any involvement in the assassination by Martine. As per the Miami Herald, although Martine originally answered questions from the Haitian authorities, she has since refused to meet with Voltaire, instead demanding his removal from the case. Several sources revealed to the Miami Herald that Voltaire, whose mandate to investigate the case expires on Friday, informed justice officials that he is ready to issue formal charges on the case but needs more time. Appointed in May 2022 to oversee the case, Voltaire is the fifth investigative judge of the case. A previous judge stepped down a day after one of his assistants died under mysterious circumstances. Martine was with her husband Jovenel Moïse and their two children inside their private residence in the hills above the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince when the erstwhile president was assassinated. Former Colombian soldiers, Haitian police, and two Haitian Americans stormed the residence under the guise that the US Drug Enforcement Administration was conducting a raid, which the US government denies. After months of little progress in the case, Voltaire made a breakthrough in October when government official Joseph Félix Badio was arrested after being on the run since the assassination. In November, Voltaire ordered the arrest of the Mayor of Jacmel Marky Kessa, who previously met with several of the suspects of the assassination in South Florida. Kessa introduced the Haitian American suspects to James Solages and South Florida pastor Christian Emmanuel Sanon, who had ambitions to replace Moïse as president. For her part, Martine originally stated that she hid under the bed when the assassins entered her bedroom and shot her husband a dozen times. However, when FBI agents, accompanied by Voltaire, inspected the Moïse residence in April, they noticed that the bed was not high enough off the floor for someone to hide under it. Martine is believed to be residing in South Florida on an expired travel visa. As mentioned by AP, Martine could not be reached for comment, and a spokesman for her attorney based in Florida claims he is trying to reach the attorney.
