Official request already sent

The Haitian authorities have petitioned their Jamaican counterparts to turn over former Haitian Senator John Joël Joseph, a suspect in the assassination of the country’s president, Jovenel Moïse.

Haiti wants the former politician accused in the brazen assassination to be returned to the country from Jamaica.

Haiti’s foreign minister has sent an official request to Jamaica seeking the return of Joseph, a high-ranking Haitian government source confirmed to the Miami Herald.

In Jamaica, Joseph is charged with illegal entry after he, his wife and two sons were arrested in January in rural St Elizabeth parish. It is unclear if Haitian authorities are requesting Joseph’s deportation or extradition.

Haiti and Jamaica do not share an extradition agreement. Joseph, who also goes by the name Joseph Joël John, is a Haitian citizen. He ended up in Jamaica after spending months in hiding in the wake of the July 7, 2021, assassination of Moïse at his private residence.

 The late president, whose mandate officially ended last month according to the international community’s timetable, was shot 12 times and his wife was seriously injured after an alleged hit squad of former Colombian military stormed his home. They were joined by two Haitian Americans and current and former Haiti National Police officers.

Joseph can shed light on the motive behind Moïse’s slaying

Joseph is considered a key suspect in the case who can shed light on the motive behind Moïse’s slaying and why the mission changed from kidnapping and arresting the president to killing him. Several other suspects interviewed by both Haitian and US investigators have said the initial plan was to arrest the president, who had been accused by opponents of remaining in office beyond his term.

Haitian police say Joseph was in contact with several of the suspects in the assassination plot and attended meetings about the attack. A 124-page Haiti National Police investigative report obtained by the Herald also accused him of paying for the rental vehicles that were to be used in the assassination.

Documents seeking Joseph’s return to Haiti were sent to Jamaica on March 10, the same day that Joseph appeared in a Kingston court, where a judge put off a decision on his fate.

“Mr John Joël Joseph is considered a fugitive from justice and is suspected of being an accessory to a crime,” the Haiti official said.

“All of this has been clearly stated in the correspondence.”

The Herald reported that Jamaica’s Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck did not respond to an inquiry from the newspaper about the request.

The investigation of Moïse’s murder has stalled in Haiti, where the first investigative judge resigned from the case before even starting. The second had it taken from him after he was accused of corruption and failed to meet a legal deadline to bring formal charges, and a third turned down a request to take over the investigation due to safety concerns.