Where are Jovenel Moïse's children? Haiti's 'Banana President' survived by 2 sons and daughter
Jovenel Moïse's assassination has sent shockwaves across Haiti and globally. The impoverished country's future lies in limbo after Moïse was shot at his private residence on July 7. Haiti's first lady Martine Moïse was injured in the incident as well, following which she was rushed to the hospital. While unconfirmed reports claim that the First Lady succumbed to gunshot wounds on arriving at a hospital, Frantz Duval, a well-known journalist at Haiti’s main newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, said she was still alive and being evacuated to an undisclosed country for treatment. Her condition remains unclear at the moment.
Haiti's interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph's office announced the news to the world via a statement. Joseph's statement revealed Moïse was killed by "foreigners speaking English and Spanish."
He described Moïse's assassination as a "hateful, inhumane, and barbaric act." Moïse's death came one day after he appointed neurosurgeon Ariel Henry as the prime minister of the crisis-stricken and impoverished nation. “The country’s security situation is under the control of the National Police of Haiti and the Armed Forces of Haiti. Democracy and the republic will win," Joseph's statement read.
Moïse and Martine are survived by two sons - Joverlein, Jovenel Jr, and daughter Jomarlie.
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Where are Jovenel Moïse's children?
Jovenel Moïse and Martine made it a point to keep their children out of the public eye. Details about them are scarce on the Internet except for one report in 2019. Reports said two of the president's children went to the Dominican Republic in the wake of protests in Haiti. Joverlein, who was 27 at the time, had crossed into Jimani in Dominican Republic, accompanied by his bodyguards and under the protection of Dominican soldiers. His sister Jomarlie had arrived in DR a couple of days prior and was escorted to an undisclosed location from the El Higüero Airport. The whereabouts of Jovenel Jr couldn't be determined.
Jovenel Jr and Joverlein have remained active on social media and their Instagram and Facebook accounts have been public over the years. Their account activity shows that they spend the majority of their time outside Haiti. Joverlein has even started a family and is a father of two kids and he has possibly immigrated to Canada. The slain couple's only daughter Jomarlie has kept her Instagram account private under the username @loristonk.
Moïse was known as the 'Banana President' of Haiti. People began referring to him with the nickname after his major involvement in the banana plantation business. According to a report from 2016, Moïse's company Agritrans had snatched land and destroyed the crops of more than 800 farmers leaving them penniless in 2013. The land then hosted a private banana plantation. The bulldozers which were used to invade the land later pulled down the houses of at least 17 families who continued to remain homeless for many years.
Following major protests organized by the Peasant Movement for the Development of Deveren (MPDD), Agritrans offered $40 to $700 in compensation to the families who were left homeless. People who had lost their homes were not happy with the money they were offered. Gilles St Pierre, a member of MPDD who had lost his concrete home said, “What am I supposed to do with 700 dollars?“ in an interaction with an outlet. "I had a house and land… and now I work as a taxi driver," he added.