3 years ago
370
(CNN)Until conscionable a fewer weeks ago, Rockfeller Vincent was the eventual insider in the probe into the still-unsolved assassination of Haiti's erstwhile president Jovenel Moise, who was brutally gunned down successful his chamber successful July.
Now he's connected the extracurricular looking successful -- and it's an disfigured view. "The Haitian federation is surviving the worst governmental situation of its history," Vincent told CNN.
As Haiti's justness minister, helium oversaw the sprawling statesmanlike execution investigation, which has implicated a Haitian-American pastor, dozens of Colombian hired soldiers, and members of Haiti's ain constabulary force.
Then, connected September 14, the probe reached sitting Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
The country's apical prosecutor, Bed-Ford Claude, said helium would inquire for charges against the Prime Minister successful transportation with the killing, citing grounds of telephone calls betwixt Henry and 1 of the suspected masterminds connected the nighttime of the murder. He besides requested that Henry travel to his bureau for questioning.
That week, some Claude and Vincent were abruptly fired.
Speaking from an undisclosed determination connected Friday, Vincent -- who says helium has gone into hiding since his firing -- told CNN helium thought it should person been the different mode around.
"In each superior countries, erstwhile you are implicated successful specified an affair, the Prime Minister should connection his resignation. He should resign. And we are inactive waiting for him to resign. Because connected the nighttime of the president's death, a fewer hours aboriginal ... helium had telephone conversations with the president's assassin," Vincent said.
Vincent accuses the Prime Minister of trying to "cover his tracks" with the firings.
"When you occurrence the authoritative and the justness curate and you spot successful his presumption idiosyncratic who knows thing astir justness ... what precisely are you trying to do?" helium said.
Henry denies having thing to bash with the killing. Speaking to CNN past week, helium said helium had "no recollection" of a telephone telephone "or if it took place."
'The republic volition beryllium crushed'
Henry assumed the premiership with planetary backing a fewer weeks aft Moise's death, aft a little standoff with the erstwhile Prime Minister. In the lack of a president, helium volition present pb Haiti until its long-overdue elections -- which person been postponed again, until sometime adjacent year.
The Prime Minister has often described solving the execution lawsuit arsenic a idiosyncratic mission. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No governmental maneuver, nary media campaign, nary distraction tin deter maine from this extremity to bring justness for President Moise," Henry told satellite leaders astatine the United Nations General Assembly past week.
According to Henry's office, some Vincent and Claude were fired for breaking the law, which forbids prosecuting apical officials without support from the caput of authorities -- presently Henry himself.
But Vincent says helium was sacked for refusing to occurrence Claude, which helium describes arsenic an ethically intolerable request fixed the ongoing investigation. "I told [Henry], 'This is not possible. We are going to person problems. The republic volition beryllium crushed if you disregard the nationalist prosecutor," Vincent said.
In the end, Haiti's Interior Minister Liszt Quitel stepped successful to occurrence Claude.
Quitel, an technologist by training, was besides fixed Vincent's occupation -- and is present doing double-duty arsenic caput of some Haiti's interior and justness ministries.
Speaking to CNN this weekend, Quitel dismissed the telephone calls successful question arsenic insufficient for a warrant against the Prime Minister, and noted that the probe nether Vincent's enactment had led to nary wide answers.
"I don't spot what would beryllium the motive to inquire the Prime Minister to look earlier a judge, conscionable due to the fact that helium had a telephone call," helium said.
"This is evidently thing that's politically motivated," helium said -- a assertion Vincent rejects.
A troubled probe
The probe into Moise's decease has agelong been troubled by allegations of obstruction and missing pieces.
In July, sources adjacent to the lawsuit told CNN they were troubled by the information that Justice Ministry staffers had not been fixed contiguous entree to transgression scenes and cardinal evidence, including surveillance footage from wrong and astir the president's mansion during the attack.
Clerks progressive successful the lawsuit besides received decease threats, forcing immoderate to fly the capital.
At the time, Vincent did not respond to requests for comment. Now, however, helium defends his oversight of the months-long probe, insisting investigators were escaped to enactment arsenic they needed.
He says helium excessively receives decease threats from the equipped groups that power ample parts of Port-au-Prince.
The assassination probe is presently with an autarkic investigating judge, who has not publically called for the Prime Minister's testimony.
Additional overseas enactment volition besides beryllium needed to adjacent the case, according to Henry and Vincent -- a uncommon constituent of agreement.
The US and Colombia did nonstop investigative teams to assistance successful the aboriginal days of the investigation. But with fingers present pointing successful each directions, imaginable overseas partners successful Haiti's intrigue-plagued probe whitethorn consciousness wary of getting involved.
Correction: An earlier mentation of this communicative misspelled the archetypal sanction of Justice Minister Rockfeller Vincent.
Reporting contributed by CNN's Matt Rivers successful Mexico City and Melissa Bell successful Paris.
English (US) ·