Executive

Haiti: Martelly Charges Man with Plotting to Overthrow Him with Information

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (defend.ht) - The government of Michel Martelly and the Dominican government have accused a man of plotting to overthrow President Martelly with information.

At a press conference, the Haitian and Dominican government officials said former Colonel Pedro Julio "Pepe" Goico "instructed a citizen of the neighboring country (Haiti), Pierre Kanski, to launch a campaign to discredit the figure of the Haitian president."

A conversation between Goico and Kanski was recorded by the governments' security officials and presented to the media. In the recording, Goico reacted to an investigative journalism program, by Nuria Piera. Goico referred to it as "the scandal of Martelly and the money he has taken as a gift and took the money being a candidate and took the money being president."

In front of journalists, more of the audio was played of the conversation between Goico and Kanski where Goico says "this is the time for this son of a bitch to fall and for me to grow my own discourse of anti-corruption."

Also in the recording, the voice of the caller, Goico, said your boss has become the political bastion of anti-corruption, "he has to become the example of anti-corruption policy."

The press conference was attended by the outgoing Minister of Justice Michel Brunache, the Dominican Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Morales Troncoso, Dominican Ambassador to Haiti Fritz Cineas, Dominican Attorney General Radhames Jimenez Pena and the Director of the Dominican Presidential Press, Rafael Nunez.

The officials characterize Goico's actions as a 'plot to destabilize the government of Michel Martelly, to overthrow his government and condemned such actions as those "of a criminal nature, conspiracy and seditious, threatening the peace, order and tranquility of the Haitian people."

It is important to note that no charges were made against the journalist Nuria Piera for her report which found that Haitian President Michel Martelly had accepted over $2.5 million [US] from a Dominican senator as a candidate and president of Haiti.