Widow of Haiti president describes his killing at US trial of four charged with conspiracy

The widow of Haiti’s last elected president described being shot and wounded during the 2021 assassination of her husband Jovenel Moïse

MIAMI -- The widow of Jovenel Moïse — Haiti’s last elected president -- described being shot and wounded during the 2021 assassination of her husband while testifying Wednesday in the U.S. federal trial of four men charged with conspiracy in the case.

Martine Moïse returned to the stand in a Miami courtroom after testifying for about an hour the day before. She had been the prosecution's first witness, following opening statements by attorneys on Tuesday.

Jovenel Moïse was killed in the early morning hours of July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries — mostly from Colombia — attacked his home near Port-au-Prince, officials said.

Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages are charged in Miami federal court with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Haiti’s former leader. Jovenel Moïse’s assassination led to unprecedented turmoil in the Caribbean nation, where gang leaders have grown increasingly violent and empowered.

Testifying Wednesday, Martine Moïse described through a Creole interpreter how she went to bed around 10 p.m. the night before the attack and awoke to the sounds of gunfire about three hours later. She said she turned to her husband in bed next to her to ask what was going on.