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Haiti’s First Lady Makes Surprise Return

Martine Moise was spotted emerging from a private jet with a cast on her arm from the gunshot wound she suffered in the attack on her late husband.

Haiti’s First Lady, Martine Moïse , returned to Port-au-Prince on Saturday afternoon nearly two weeks after her husband, the late President Jovenel Moise, was assassinated and she was wounded by gunfire in a late-night attack. She returned aboard a private jet, accompanied by two security contractors.

The plane landed around 4:30 p.m., with Moïse emerging from the plane wearing black. She had a cast on her arm from a gunshot wound she suffered during the deadly attack on her husband. She was met by a Haitian delegation. There were no immediate details on where she was headed next. She apparently told members of her entourage in Miami that she felt better being back at home in Haiti.

The 47-year old was critically wounded during the fatal attack on her husband in the early hours of July 7. She suffered gunshot wounds to her arm and thighs. The Daily Beast learned she was rescued by unidentified individuals who arrived an hour after the attack and took her downtown to the General Hospital. A few hours later she was medevacked to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and taken to the trauma center at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.

Her return to Haiti comes after she shared a picture of herself in a hospital bed on Twitter earlier this week, thanking the “guardian angels” at Jackson Memorial Hospital who took care of her. “With your gentle touch, kindness and care, I was able to hold on. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” she wrote.

She also opened up about the shock of losing her husband so brutally, writing that “this pain will never pass.”

Her sudden and unannounced return could well be to attend the funeral of her husband next week in the northern city of Cap Haitian where he came from. An initial ceremony is to be held in the capital of Port au Prince on July 20, and his burial will be on July 23 in Cap Haitian. Plans for President Jovenel Moïse's funeral were announced late Friday by the interim prime minister's office.

In the wake of the assassination, the country of more than 11 million has been left reeling not only over President Moise’s death, but also over the uncertainty of who is now leading the nation. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph, who had resigned as prime minister prior to the assassination, took the reins and vowed to maintain stability and peace.

He was part of a small delegation that greeted the first lady on the tarmac Saturday.

Meanwhile, a group of international diplomats have thrown their support behind the man who was designated by President Moise to serve as prime minister just a day before his assassination. Moise had named Ariel Henry as Joseph’s replacement, though Joseph has said Henry was never sworn in, making the appointment invalid.

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Ingrid Arnesen

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