SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Attorneys for the widow of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moïse filed a lawsuit Thursday in Florida against those accused in his assassination, which is still under investigation.
The lawsuit, which was first shared with The Associated Press, seeks unspecified damages for Moïse’s family and a trial by jury in a push to hold the defendants responsible for the president’s death.
“Whatever assets are out there, we will make sure these people will pay,” attorney Paul Turner told the AP.
The lawsuit was filed nearly two years after the July 7, 2021 assassination of Moïse, who was shot a dozen times at his private home in an attack that also seriously injured his wife, Martine Moïse.
More than 40 people have been arrested in the case, including a former Haitian senator, an ex-government official who worked at an anti-corruption agency, and 18 former soldiers from Colombia.
Turner said he believes there are more people involved in the presidential assassination who have not been identified.
“We believe there are deep pockets or political power behind this,” he said.
Eleven suspects are being held in US federal prison as Turner lamented that the case is languishing in Haiti, where four judges appointed to oversee the investigation have been dismissed or resigned for personal reasons.
The lawsuit filed at a Miami circuit court accuses some of the suspects of causing the president’s death and serious injury to his wife, Martine Moïse, who was shot multiple times.
It also alleges 11 other counts including battery, assault, civil conspiracy and intentional infliction of emotional distress, stating that “defendants engaged in extreme and outrageous conduct in conspiring to torture and assassinate President Moïse.
