Widow of Assassinated Haitian President Moise Says Hitmen Thought She Was Dead - Reports

WASHINGTON, July 30 (Sputnik) - The assassins who killed Haitian President Jovenel Moise believed that they also killed his wife upon leaving the scene, Martie Moise said an interview with the New York Times on Friday.

"When they left, they thought I was dead", Martie Moise said, adding that the assassins even stepped on her feet and shined a flashlight in her eyes to check whether she may be still alive.

Martie Moise’s hand and elbow were struck by bullets shortly after the assassins attacked their residence and her husband told her to get down on the floor beside their bed. She said the only thing she saw before her husband was killed was their boots.

However, Moise noted that none of the assassins spoke Creole or French. Instead, they spoke only Spanish as they searched through files the president kept in the room. Whatever they were searching for, they found it, she added.

The Haitian authorities have detained a number of people from Columbia, Haiti and the United States in connection with the assassination. Some of the men from Columbia are known to have received training from the US military.

Moise said only the "oligarchs and the system" could kill her husband perhaps in reference to the struggle between the late president and some of Haiti’s oligarchs.

The Biden administration has offered its assistance to the Haitian government in the aftermath of the assassination, including offers to aid in the investigation and appointing career diplomat Daniel Foote as a special envoy to the country.