Former Haitian official Badio denies role in Jovenel Moïse assassination, calls police report flawed

PORT-AU-PRINCE — During a Court of Appeal hearing on Monday, Feb. 10, Joseph Félix Badio, a key suspect in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, denied any involvement and called the investigation incomplete. He argued that the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police (DCPJ) report left out crucial names and lacked scientific rigor. Despite his claims, no new credible evidence has emerged to help the court answer the central question: Who orchestrated this crime?

Standing before judges, prosecutors and a packed courtroom—including 17 Colombian mercenaries also implicated in the crime—Badio, who once worked for Haiti’s Ministry of Justice, insisted he was aware of a coup plot against Moïse but had no role in the murder.

“I had no involvement in the president’s assassination,” Badio said. “Everything said is nonsense, except one fact: the president was assassinated.”

The assassination remains one of Haiti’s most complex criminal cases in recent years, involving multiple countries, notably the United States and Colombia. Despite nearly 50 indictments, no trial has taken place in Haiti, even after more than 40 arrests. Meanwhile, in the U.S., at least five individuals linked to the case have been convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Badio’s hearing comes as the Haitian judiciary faces growing criticism over its handling of the case, with concerns that influential figures remain shielded from scrutiny and accountability.

The hearing marked nearly four years since Moïse was killed at his residence in Pèlerin, Pétion-Ville, on July 7, 2021, in an operation involving Colombian mercenaries and Haitian Americans. The investigation in Haiti remains clouded by political turmoil, worsening gang violence and the fall of two prime ministers, Claude Joseph and Ariel Henry.

Badio questions missing names and security failures

Badio, who was arrested in October 2023 after two years on the run, claimed the DCPJ investigation overlooked critical security lapses. He pointed to the sudden replacement of Pétion-Ville’s police commissioner just two days before the assassination, suggesting it was a deliberate move that warranted further scrutiny.

“Many close to the president should have been questioned,” Badio said. “Why weren’t the agents responsible for his security affected?”

“Certain individuals are being protected to maintain their interests,” Badio claimed. Despite his claims, he provided no new evidence and refused to name who he believed orchestrated the assassination.

The former Haiti Ministry of Justice employee also pointed out that two armored vehicles stationed on Pèlerin Road—where Moïse lived—disappeared the night of the murder. The officers in those vehicles were not named in the DCPJ report, raising suspicions of internal involvement.

Additionally, the indicted Badio acknowledged speaking with ex-Senator John Joël Joseph—another plotter in the case sentenced to life in the U.S. federal prison—who allegedly told him the plan was to remove Moïse from power, not kill him. The plan was to replace Moïse with Christian Emmanuel Sanon, he said.

“The goal was a coup, not an assassination,” Badio said, claiming Moïse himself was aware of the plot.

Badio claimed that documents recovered by the FBI from Moïse’s residence confirmed the president was aware of discussions about a potential coup. He alleged that Senator Jean Hector Anacasis was the one who informed him.

Fugitive and ex-head of national palace security implicates U.S. Embassy and Léon Charles

While Badio defended himself in court, another suspect—Dimitri Hérard, former head of the National Palace General Security Unit (USGPN)—released two long videos from hiding, presenting his version of events.

Hérard, who escaped from prison last year during a gang attack on Haiti’s National Penitentiary, accused the U.S. Embassy in Haiti and former Haitian National Police chief Léon Charles of complicity in Moïse’s murder.

He claimed the U.S. Embassy had prior knowledge of the plot, citing an arrest warrant for Moïse that he says was signed and stamped by embassy officials.

The U.S. Embassy and Léon Charles knew what was coming, Hérard suggests.

Hérard also criticized Charles for failing to secure the crime scene and allowing the Colombian mercenaries to leave Moïse’s residence without immediate pursuit.

“I thought Léon Charles would order a manhunt immediately. Instead, he treated it like just another event,” Hérard said.

According to the ex-head of the USGPN, Charles met with then-Prime Minister Claude Joseph just minutes after Moïse’s assassination, reportedly stating that “everything was under control.”

Like Badio, Hérard claimed Moïse was the target of multiple coup attempts before his assassination. He cited a November 2020 incident where he was approached by individuals—including former U.S. diplomat Daniel Whitman and Haitian police inspector Marie-Louise Gauthier—offering him $3.5 million to support a coup.

Moïse reportedly instructed Hérard to go along with the plot to gather evidence, leading to the arrests of several conspirators on Feb. 7, 2021.

Hérard claimed that Charles, as director general, knew about the planned coup on Feb. 7, 2021, but downplayed the threat and failed to inform the president. In an interview with Radio Métropole, Charles acknowledged being aware of the plot. He recalled that one of the alleged conspirators, Mario Beauvois, told him U.S. officials favored him and had even offered him the position of prime minister—an offer Charles dismissed as a joke.

“I informed the president, and he said he was aware. I informed U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison, and she told me, ‘Don’t worry about that.’ At that moment, we no longer focused on it,” Charles said on Radio Métropole. 

Hérard further claimed that during a police raid at Petit-Bois, a locality in northeast Port-au-Prince, to arrest plotters, Charles and another officer, Frederick Lecomte, tampered with evidence they did not send to prosecutors.

Martine Moïse calls on Trump to declassify FBI files

As new allegations emerge, former First Lady Martine Moïse has renewed calls for transparency.

On Feb. 10, she publicly requested U.S. President Donald J. Trump to declassify FBI and State Department documents related to her husband’s assassination.

“Today, the perpetrators of this heinous act control the Executive and Judiciary branches of government and are ruling Haiti with the gangs,” the widow wrote on X.

She also urged Haiti to appoint a prime minister capable of dismantling gangs and organizing free elections.

“The Haitian people want justice, peace, and opportunity,” she added.

With new allegations surfacing and key suspects still at large, the assassination of Jovenel Moïse remains an unresolved case that continues to shake Haiti’s political and judicial landscape.

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Former Haitian official Badio denies role in Jovenel Moïse assassination, calls police report flawed was first posted on February 12, 2025 at 10:20 am.