2026-02-18

Arbitrary The National Network for the Defense of Human Rights published a detailed denunciation on February 17 of four wanted notices issued by the Central Directorate of the Judicial Police, describing them as absurd, illegal, and arbitrary. The notices target former Member of Parliament Arnel Belizaire, a known Viv Ansanm ally; former Port-au-Prince Municipal Council President Ralph Youri Chevry; former Port-au-Prince Customs Director Edouard Julcene; and Smith Joseph, a cabinet member of former CPT Advisor Fritz Alphonse Jean. Charges across the four notices include financing terrorism, conspiracy against state security, money laundering, illegal firearms trafficking, and criminal association. RNDDH's most damaging finding concerns the Belizaire notice, which the organization February 18, 2026 characterized as a farce. Belizaire is documented as a close personal friend of DCPJ Director Justin Marc and has had unrestricted access to DCPJ headquarters since September 22, 2025. Issuing a wanted notice against an individual who routinely enters the institution's own building is procedurally incoherent and, per RNDDH, constitutes evidence of political instrumentalization rather than legitimate law enforcement. None of the four individuals were summoned by the DCPJ before the notices were issued, a violation of basic due process under Haitian law. The political geometry of the four targets is analytically significant. Chevry was recently removed as Port-au-Prince mayor and replaced by Fils-Aime appointee Yves Andrel Salomon. Smith Joseph's association with Fritz Alphonse Jean -- a sanctioned former CPT member -- links the notices to the post-February 7 political realignment. RNDDH warned explicitly that using the judicial police as a political instrument constitutes a clear violation of democratic rule-of-law principles and recommended suspension of all four notices pending legal review. For the Fils-Aime government, this development arrives at the worst possible moment. The administration is asking Haiti's population and international partners to trust its security governance as the foundation for electoral preparation. An RNDDH denunciation of the DCPJ as politically captured -- with documentation that one target freely accessed DCPJ headquarters for months -- directly undercuts that credibility claim. The government has issued no public response to the RNDDH findings as of this reporting period.