Report: Haiti's President Was Murdered for Probing Major Role of Nation in Drug Smuggling

Haitian President Jovenel Moise was compiling a list of officials and businessmen linked to the drug trade before he was assassinated in July, the New York Times reported on Sunday, adding he planned to give the names to the U.S. government.

"Haiti may now provide the largest route for drugs destined for the United States, but no one knows for sure because the country has become so difficult to police," the Times reports. "American law enforcement is unable to run a wiretapping program in the country, or even fully collaborate with its Haitian counterparts, because corruption in the police and judiciary runs so deep, U.S. officials say."

Moise was murdered in a late-night raid on his home by a group of armed men that included former Colombian soldiers. Haitian authorities have arrested 45 people but have not yet charged anyone with the crime.

Some of those who were captured confessed that retrieving the list with names of suspected drug traffickers was a top priority, the Times reported, citing three senior Haitian officials with knowledge of the investigation.

"The document was part of a broader series of clashes Mr. Moise had with powerful political and business figures, some suspected of narcotics and arms trafficking," the Times wrote.

A spokesman for the office of Prime Minister Ariel Henry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moise's murder left Haiti in a political vacuum with no elected president, and further fueled a wave of kidnappings by gangs that now control much of the Caribbean nation's territory.

The government has promised to serve justice in the case, but judicial officials have also reported intimidation and death threats.