Roche was affiliated with Group of 184 and an opponent of Jean-Bertrand Aristide and his Fanmi Lavalas political party and pro-Lavalas were suspected of carrying out his murder.
[6] Roche led the organization Assemblée des Peuples de la Caraïbe au Cap Haïtien.
[8][9] Jacques Roche was a journalist and editor of the Le Matin daily arts and culture newspaper section.
Roche was driving in the downtown area of Nazon in Port-au-Prince where he would participate in a civil rights rally.
Days later in the afternoon of 14 July 2005, Roche's tortured body was found in the downtown area of Port-au-Prince.
According to Reporters Without Borders, the suspects belonged to a gang called the "Rat Army" that operated in the Port-au-Prince district of Bel-Air.
These organizations called for everyone to come together and honor Jacques Roche by continuing to protest the terrible living conditions that their community has had for many years.
Journalists in Haiti have been threatened and attacked, and are forced to limit their movements due to the pervasive lawlessness.
"[23] ActionAID, which is a group in South Africa issued a statement saying "We fervently denouncing Jacques Roche's cowardly execution.