Haiti: PM Henry Dismisses Attorney General for Confronting Him

Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry dismissed Attorney General Bel-Ford Claude for publicly accusing him of being involved in President Jovenel Moise’s assassination, which Colombian ex-military officers perpetrated on July 7.

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Claude supported his accusation on data from the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH), which revealed that Henry had two telephone conversations with Joseph Badio, a former Justice Ministry's official accused of ordering Moise's assassination, three hours after the crime.

"There is enough evidence to prosecute Henry and ask for his direct indictment," Claude stated and urged Judge Garry Orelien, who leads the case, to investigate the Prime Minister and prohibit his departure from the country.

Henry yet rejected these accusations, claiming that identifying all the people who called him the night of the murder is almost impossible since he could not attend all calls.

Besides Claude, Henry has dismissed Justice Minister Rockefeller Vincent and the Council of Ministers' Secretary Renald Luberic for confronting him. The latter, however, took the initiative to resign before his dismissal became effective. "I cannot serve a prime minister who became a suspect in the assassination of our president," he stated. 

These dismissals share the background of complex negotiations, whereby Henry plans to form a new government composed mainly of people with no ties to political parties to exercise power until the 2022 presidential elections.

On Sept. 11, pro-government and opposition politicians signed the "Political Agreement for Peaceful and Effective Interim Period Governance". According to Herny, about 169 political and social organizations supported this initiative. However, no official data has been published in this regard.