A former Haitian senator, a fired government official and an informant for the U.S. government are the latest suspects identified as part of a sweeping investigation into the killing of President Jovenel Moïse. The men are among five fugitives whom police say are armed and dangerous as they continued Wednesday to track down those suspected in the July 7 pre-dawn attack at Moïse’s private home in which the president was shot to death and his wife, Martine, wounded.
One of the suspects was identified as former Sen. John Joël Joseph, a well-known Haitian politician and opponent to the Tet Kale party that Moïse belonged to. In a video posted last year on YouTube, Joseph compared Moïse to the coronavirus, saying Haitians have died from hunger or been killed amid a spike in violence under his administration.
“Insecurity has infected every single Haitian,” he said. Police identified the second suspect as Joseph Felix Badio. He previously worked for Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and joined the government’s anti-corruption unit in March 2013. The agency issued a statement saying Badio was fired in May following “serious breaches” of unspecified ethical rules, adding that it filed a complaint against him.
