Investigative | The Haitian Pulse | July 9, 2025
It was never supposed to play out this way. On July 7, 2021, Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was brutally assassinated in his own bedroom. A foreign mercenary squad stormed his residence, shouting “DEA Operation—do not shoot.” Nobody fired a shot. They found his body, riddled with bullets, his wife wounded. But what if the mercenaries didn’t kill him at all?
The Mercenary Fairytale
The official story tells us that 28 Colombian mercenaries, hired and financed via Miami networks, executed the crime. They arrived under the cover of night, claiming DEA backing—a deception to disarm the presidential guard. Yet no security force resisted. Haitian police—called CIMO, Cat Team, DCPJ, and DGPNH—were mysteriously absent. No one answered when Moïse’s last desperate phone calls went out. Even the elite USGPN posted just 5 guards on duty, with only five weapons functional that night.
But here’s the chilling question: Was the presidential guard itself part of the plot? Investigations suggest that security chiefs, including Dimitri Hérard and Jean Laguel Civil, may have ordered their men to stand down. Weapons were reportedly removed or locked away in the hours before the attack. Some accounts even hint that guards were bribed in cash to ensure no resistance when the killers arrived.
There was no return fire—not because the attackers were too strong, but because the presidential guard may have been neutralized beforehand. There was simply no one left to protect the president. They appeared to know exactly what to do because they were allegedly integral to the plot.
Within hours, Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph locked down the scene and discouraged the presence of Haitian crime scene investigators until the FBI arrived. Evidence? Gone. Surveillance tapes? Gone. The FBI—not Haitian authorities—took control of the crime scene. Meanwhile, First Lady Martine Moïse and her children were flown to Miami—silenced, protected, and according to some insiders, financially compensated.
A Sinister Master Plan?
It may have started at the very top. According to analysts and observers, there is growing speculation that the U.S. State Department under the Biden administration viewed Moïse’s pivot toward Russia—highlighted by his June trip to Turkey and interest in hosting a Russian ambassador in Port-au-Prince—as a geopolitical provocation. In this scenario, some believe a quiet decision was made: Moïse had to be neutralized before these moves disrupted the balance of power in the Caribbean.
This theory raises further questions about the smokescreen coup narrative. Dr. Christian Emmanuel Sanon (Layer 2), a little-known Haitian-American pastor, became the face of the plot to recruit CTU Security in Miami and bring in Colombian mercenaries. But were these Colombians simply pawns? Evidence suggests they only knew about the mission they were sent to carry out—but may have been unaware that another, more sophisticated plan was unfolding ahead of their arrival.
Could it be that an elite, highly trained team—separate from the Colombians—entered earlier, eliminated Moïse, and staged the scene? Under this hypothesis, the Colombians arrived later to draw global attention to themselves, never realizing the president had already been killed.
Meanwhile, Haitian security officials (Layer 5)—figures like Dimitri Hérard, Jean Laguel Civil, and Léon Charles—are alleged to have played their part by systematically disarming the presidential guard, issuing stand-down orders, and ensuring no resistance when the final phase of the plot was executed. Whether through bribes, coercion, or complicity, they helped create conditions that allowed the operation to proceed smoothly and left the mercenaries to take the blame.
And then there’s Martine Moïse. Could the president’s wife have known more than she has revealed? In Haiti, whispers have turned into questions: why does her narrative contain contradictions? How did she survive under circumstances that seem increasingly improbable? And why has she avoided answering subpoenas from Haitian courts? Her presence during the attack, yet her ability to return days later for the funeral seemingly unscathed, has fueled speculation that she may not have been as powerless as she appears.
The Crime Scene Cover-Up
Hours after Moïse was shot, Haitian investigators were reportedly locked out of the crime scene. For hours, nothing moved. By the time authorities were allowed in, FBI agents had removed tapes and key evidence. Why? Some theorize that whoever orchestrated the assassination needed time to erase any trace of what truly happened.
Martine’s account—hiding under a bed, shot seven or eight times—invites even more questions. How could she squeeze under a modern bed frame given her stature? Why was her handshake so firm at the airport days later that it reportedly startled Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph? Was her survival an act of determination, or is there something more to the story?
This narrative raises uncomfortable possibilities: perhaps the public has been deliberately misled, the evidence manipulated, and the crime scene staged.
The Bigger Conspiracy
This wasn’t mere political violence. It was the culmination of multiple interests converging in a perfect storm of betrayal and power plays.
Diplomatic defiance – Moïse’s pivot toward Russia, marked by his June trip to Turkey and eagerness to host a Russian ambassador, raised alarms in Washington. For the U.S., such moves threatened to shift Haiti out of its traditional sphere of influence.
Economic sabotage – The president began canceling corrupt energy contracts tied to Haitian elites like Dimitri Vorbe and Reginald Boulos, oligarchs with vast fortunes and everything to lose.
Political betrayal – Within Haiti, factions from PHTK and Lavalas, including Michel Martelly and Jean-Bertrand Aristide, had their own agendas. Martelly, once Moïse’s patron, was reportedly enraged when Moïse cleared the path for Laurent Lamothe instead of restoring him to power.
Co-opted intelligence assets – Layer 3 actors like Joseph Vincent, James Solages, and an African-American operative now imprisoned in Miami allegedly played crucial roles in recruiting the Colombian mercenaries, navigating their movements, and making the infamous “DEA Operation—do not shoot” call to disarm resistance. These informants, some with ties to the DEA and FBI, were carefully shielded from scrutiny, their trials tightly controlled to bury potential links to larger networks.
Complicit Security Forces – The Haitian presidential guard’s catastrophic failure was no accident; it appears to have been orchestrated from within.
At each level, a puppet hand guided the operation. Yet nobody on the ground seemed to grasp the full picture, making it easier for the true masterminds to remain hidden in the shadows.
A Broader Deception
It is becoming increasingly clear that we may all have been deceived. This was no ordinary crime but a meticulously crafted operation, executed with precision at the highest levels of power. The possibility grows stronger each day that true justice for President Jovenel Moïse may never come. Those who might have spoken out have likely been silenced—some with cash, others with promises of protection. Even longtime opponents of Moïse, figures like Moïse Jean-Charles and André Michel—once loud and defiant—now move quietly under the shelter of heavy security.
And as we trace the layers of this conspiracy, the web of responsibility seems to widen endlessly. There were those who allegedly planned the first assassination attempt but never got to execute it, the media outlets that worked tirelessly to vilify Moïse, the political elites who conspired against him, and even segments of the Haitian public who took to the streets demanding his ouster. On the surface, it appears there is plenty of blame to go around. Yet here lies the most unsettling possibility: none of these actors may truly fit the profile of the real killer. They, too, may have been pawns in a larger, more sinister game—roles carefully scripted to focus the world’s attention on convenient villains while the true mastermind operates in shadows so deep that their identity may never come to light.
Why It Matters — Now
Four years later, justice remains elusive. Investigations stall, suspects disappear, and foreign powers quietly exit the stage. The Haitian public deserves answers: Who really killed their president? Was it a mercenary squad gone rogue, or were they scapegoats in a larger, more sinister design?
Haiti needs transparency—an independent inquiry, unrestricted access to all evidence, and tough questions directed at those who benefitted most from Moïse’s demise.
The world deserves to know whether this was a crime of opportunity or an assassination carefully choreographed at the highest levels.
The Haitian Pulse delivers fearless, diasporic perspectives that challenge corruption, expose opportunism, and amplify voices too often silenced. Our reporting bridges Haiti to its global diaspora, connecting local struggles to universal calls for justice and progress. Every story we publish is rooted in integrity and an unwavering commitment to a better future for Haiti and its people.
Comments