Assassination
On April 3, 2000, at 69 years of age, Dominique was shot four times in the chest as he arrived for work at Radio Haïti. The station's security guard was also killed in the attack. President René Préval ordered three days of official mourning, and 16,000 people attended his funeral at a sports stadium. Dominique's wife fled to the United States in late 2003 after the murder of her bodyguard and repeated death threats.
There have been numerous inconsistencies in the investigations into the murder, including the mysterious death of a suspect. Pharval Laboratories and Senator Toussaint came under suspicion as a result of the murder. Toussaint was the prime suspect. While the Pharval somewhat cooperated with the inquiries, Toussaint claimed parliamentary immunity and refused to testify. The first investigating judge, Claudy Gassant, fled to the United States after suggesting that Toussaint be charged over the murder. Despite this, Gassant's superiors decided that no charges would be laid. Under increasing international pressure, the Aristide government arrested three alleged gunmen Ti Lou, Guimy and Markington, but they were never charged. These three men all mysteriously escaped under the U.S.-installed government of Gerald Latortue.
Though six more people were jailed in March, 2004 for involvement in the killing, the person who ordered it has never been found. Amnesty International and Reporters Without Borders both strongly criticised the Aristide government for not doing more to solve the case. Since the assassination, several large public protests have called for more action to be taken. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and anti-Lavalas political parties within Haiti have been accused of allegedly exploiting the case for political purposes towards destabilizing Haiti's democratically elected government which was overthrown in February 2004.
The Jonathan Demme documentary The Agronomist suggests that figures within the Lavalas government under Aristide, such as Dany Toussaint, may have had a motive to kill Dominique. On December 16, 1996, Dominique had accused Aristide in a live interview that Aristide had showered the "big oligarchy" with gifts after returning to the country. Dominique said that the oligarchs, in return, had corrupted the tax office and the electricity company, and that this corruption had been accepted by Lavalas.
At one point Dany Toussaint led a group of armed men into Haiti's senate and threatened Lavalas senators with guns if they voted to revoke his immunity. Lavalas leaders now claim that Toussaint was a rogue working the ex-military and was working against the government from the inside. Toussaint also hindered the government's attempt to alter the constitution to outlaw the military.
But RSF felt that Aristide government itself was hindering the investigation and called for a government aid embargo. An embargo (2001–2004) on aid to the desperate government greatly contributed to a health crisis causing an untold amount of damage. The Aristide government supported Gassant's investigation of the case more so than any other similar case in Haitian history but Gassant and the government were constantly at odds. The interim government of Gerald Latortue stalled the case and a few suspects were able to escape from prison.
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