MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Late Haitian President had list of corruption ring

Retrieving that list was a priority after the killing

Slain Haitian President Jovenel Moïse planned to give authorities in the United States a list of politicians and businessmen linked to drug trafficking, it was reported Monday.

Moïse was shot dead at his residence July 7 in Por Au Prince by a commando assault group made up mostly of former Colombian elite troops.

 

According to a press report, Moïse was working on a list of powerful politicians and businessmen involved in drug trafficking in Haiti.

 

Some of the men arrested for the attack have apparently corroborated that retrieving that list was a priority after the killing.

 

Moïse's widow Martine, who was wounded during the attack, pretended to be dead and said she heard the killers say “this is it,” before leaving the house.

 

According to the report, Haiti may have become the largest drug trafficking route to the United States. There are allegedly several drug and arms traffickers on Haiti's Parliament and contraband planes are said to operate frequently from clandestine landing strips.

 

The New York Times also said Haitian policemen were caught “red-handed” while helping traffickers, while judges are regularly bribed to dismiss cases in a country where it is increasingly difficult to carry out a police investigation.

 

US officials claimed that the country's security forces are unable to carry out a wiretapping program in Haiti, or even fully collaborate with their Haitian counterparts, as corruption in the police and the judiciary runs very deep.

 

At least two of the Haitians suspected of being involved in Moise's murder were his former informants.

 

According to the report, Charles Saint Rémy, known as “Kiko”, was a prominent figure on Moïse's list. For the DEA, businessman Saint Rémy has long been suspected of being involved in drug trafficking. He is the brother-in-law of former Haitian President Michel Martelly, who brought Moïse out of political obscurity and chose him as his successor.

 

Martelly, who is considering running for president again, and Saint-Rémy had a profound influence on the Moïse government. People who overheard conversations claimed that Moïse could not elect his own cabinet without the approval of the Martelly family or Saint-Rémy.

 

Martelly is believed to be among the leading candidates to win next year's presidential elections.

 

Moïse had taken office as President Feb. 7, 2017.