The recent developments in the Jovenel assassination involve the arrest of the interim Mayor
of Jacmel Marky Kessa yesterday. In a video posted on social media, the former Mayor was
seen accompanied by his lawyer and a police officer leaving the judge’s chambers. He
declined to comment on the case, saying that because hearings of any judge are confidential,
he will not make any public statements. The judge after interviewing him earlier, Walter
Wesser Voltaire ordered the former Mayor’s arrest. This interrogation is in line with a series of
interrogations undertaken by the judge since taking over the docket on May 30, 2022. Sources
close to the case say that the indictment by the judge represents a significant step forward in
the investigation. The judge has already interrogated all the Colombian mercenaries
implicated in the assassination and has since remanded all of them behind bars. One of the
first people to be held responsible for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse is the
businessman Rodolphe Jarr, who agreed to supply the weapons used to kill the president. He
was tried in Miami and convicted to serve a life sentence. Last October 2023, former senator
John Joël Joseph pleaded guilty before the federal court in Miami to conspiring with others in
Haiti and South Florida to kill the president, while Joseph Vincent, another suspect, is
expected to plead guilty in a court in the United States. The arrest of Joseph Félix Badio, who
was wanted by the Haitian police for two years, is another significant step in the investigation.
In other news, the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted a resolution this past
Friday, November 17, 2023, urging member countries and permanent observers to contribute
according to their abilities to the Multinational Mission to Support Security (MMSS) in Haiti by
providing personnel, equipment, training, and necessary financial and logistical support. The
organization also charged the local political actors to find a consensus to move the country
forward. This resolution comes when the Kenyan mission still needs to be done. A
communiqué on Thursday purported that the Kenyan High Court of Justice plans to deliberate
until January about deploying police officers to Haiti to help the PNH combat gangs and
improve the security situation in the country. The deliberations extension until January 26,
2024, has ignited further controversy between critics and opponents of the effort, and the
Kenyan government now faces a dilemma as its parliament recently authorized the
deployment of the One thousand officers for the mission. The Haitians are also left wondering
if help, formerly requested 13 months ago, will ever arrive to help the police.
Meanwhile, the sitting president of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, the
Trinidadian diplomat Dennis Francis, made an official visit to the country on Monday, where
he met with interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry to discuss issues facing the nation. During their
meeting, the diplomat expressed the international community’s solidarity with the Haitian
people and assured the sitting government of other countries of support for the country in its
quest for security and the restoration of democratic institutions and stability. During the visit,
Mr. Dennis Francis also plans to meet representatives from government, political, and civil
society sectors to further engage in the country #39;s reconstruction and development
process. PM Henry also shared on his social media platform that he met with former British
PM Tony Blair to use his foundation, the Institute for Global Change, to facilitate negotiations
and normalize relations between Haiti and the DR over the use of waters from the Massacre
River. PM Henry hoped that with the intervention of Tony Blair, a peaceful solution could be
found that would benefit both parties and ensure that everyone’s rights were respected.
While on the topic of water, torrential rains that hit several regions of the country in recent
days caused the death of four people, and two others disappeared, while 420 homes were
flooded, according to the Department of Civil Protection (DPC). Three of the deaths occurred

in the southern region of the country and the fourth in the southeast, while the missing were in
the department of Grand’Anse, after a river flooded, according to information that points out
that most of the victims were trying to reach flooded rivers. In the DR, the rains claimed at
least 21 lives, including 3 Haitians. Landslides and wind gusts devastated fields in farm areas
in Grand’Anse and Nippes, where banana fields suffered considerably damage. These
situations preoccupy health officials who fear waterborne disease outbreaks because of the
flooding. Traffic remains challenging in the center of Port-de-Paix, in the north of Haiti, due to
the accumulation of mud and silt in the streets. On the other hand, the Chardonnières
communal cemetery (south) was flooded, and several graves were destroyed or damaged.
The authorities recommend that drainage and cleaning works, particularly sewers, be carried
out urgently in the main urban areas and that the authorities mobilize material and financial
resources to inform the population and carry out a specific campaign until the end of the
hurricane season, which ends at the end of November, and to continue to monitor
hydrometeorological phenomena and to inform the population if necessary.
Finally, 334 Haitians were repatriated from Turkey on Sunday, November 19. The group
consists mainly young people with great difficulty in Turkey. Supported by IOM and the
diplomatic missions of Haiti, they arrived aboard an Air Lanka flight at Toussaint Louverture
International Airport. At the same time, the Canadian Ambassador to Haiti, André François
Giroux, announced that his government has begun the Family Humanitarian Program and
that the embassy is ready to receive applications. The program will create another migration
option to Canada. The plan is to welcome up to 11,000 with family in Canada who are
nationals of Colombia, Haiti, or Venezuela, currently living in South America, Central America,
Mexico, or the Caribbean, and whose family member in Canada is a Canadian citizen or
permanent resident, spouse, common-law partner, child (of any age), grandchild, parent,
grandparent, or sibling willing to support an applicant. If approved, Immigration Canada said it
would waive the Right of Permanent Residence tax, all application fees, and biometrics fees;
cover pre-departure medical services to protect your health and allow you to travel safely in
Canada; provide you with the equivalent of three months; financial assistance once in Canada
to help you get settled; provide you with free settlement services before and after your arrival
to help you integrate into Canadian society and workforce. This looks similar to that of the US,
with more detailed information at https://www.canada.ca/fr/immigration-refugies-
citoyennete/services/immigrer-canada/humanitaire- .