Arms Trafficking: Court of Appeal Reopens Case Involving the Episcopal Church

On June 2, the Port-au-Prince Court of Appeal annulled the September 29, 2023 order by Judge Marthel Jean Claude, which had cleared two priests in the arms seizure case that occurred in July 2022 in a container linked to the Episcopal Church of Haiti.

A new twist in the arms and ammunition seizure case that occurred on July 14, 2022, at Caribbean Service port. This Monday, June 2, the Port-au-Prince Court of Appeal overturned the order issued by Judge Marthel Jean Claude, who had exonerated Fathers Fritz Désiré and Frantz Cole.

The magistrates cited « numerous flaws » and « the absence of crucial elements » in the initial investigation. Consequently, the Court ordered the resumption of the investigation, now entrusted to Judge Noé Masillon Pierre.

As a reminder, authorities had discovered 18 assault rifles, thousands of rounds of ammunition, and 50,000 dollars in counterfeit bills in a container that arrived under the franchise of the Episcopal Church of Haiti. Several arrests had followed, including those of Fathers Cole and Désiré, who remain in detention pending the outcome of this new judicial phase.

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