[ad_1]
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies are investigating links between two Haitian-American men and a group of Colombian mercenaries when Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince as several gunmen believed to be still there. the great continues.
The United States, Colombia and Interpol are teaming up with a swift investigation into the assassination after Haitian police arrested 17 members of a 28-person group, Haitian police said on Wednesday, killing President Moise.
Three Colombian mercenaries were killed and eight others were still being sought by Haitian police. The U.S. sends FBI agents and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials to Port-au-Prince.
“In response to the Haitian government’s request to support security and investigation, we will send FBI and DHS officials to Port-au-Prince to assess the situation and how we can help,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.
“Haitian police forces are conducting an investigation on the ground,” Psaki added.
Police paraded some of the suspects in front of the media on Thursday, along with Colombian passports and weapons they seized. Haitian National Police Chief Leon Charles pledged to arrest the remaining armed men when authorities launched an international investigation.
Haitian police identified two Haitian-Americans, James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55, as part of an armed force that attacked and killed Moise at his home in Port-au-Prince. Haitian first lady Martine Moise was injured in the attack and is being treated at a US hospital in Florida.
Haiti, the poorest country in America, currently has no president or a working parliament, and two politicians have claimed authority when the country plunged into political chaos.
Colombian President Ivan Duque said on Friday that he had spoken by telephone with interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph to pledge solidarity and cooperation in the investigation.
“We offer all cooperation to find out the truth about the material and intellectual perpetrators of the assassination of President Jovenel Moise,” Duque wrote in Spanish.
I just spoke to the Prime Minister of Haiti @ claudejoseph03. At this time we express our solidarity and support. We offer all cooperation to find out the truth about the material and intellectual perpetrators of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
– Iván Duque ???????? (@IvanDuque) July 9, 2021
Interpol asked Colombia for information about former soldiers for alleged involvement in the killings, Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said at a news conference on Thursday.
Molano “ordered the police and the army to cooperate immediately to clarify these facts,” Molano said.
Police clashed with gunmen at the home near the crime scene in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday. Eleven others were arrested at the Taiwanese embassy on Thursday after entering the embassy grounds.
New information was emerging on Solages on Friday, who worked as a bodyguard for a security company that served the Canadian embassy in Haiti in the mid-20s, according to reports.
Two U.S. citizens were not in the room when Moise was killed and said they were working as translators on the hit group, a Haitian judge said Friday, the New York Times reported.
Judge Clément Noël, who was involved in the investigation and interviewed the two men shortly after his arrest, said he was not injured in the attack.
James Solages, a left-wing US citizen, and Joseph Vincent, a second-left man, are suspected of murder [Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo]
Public records show that Solages, a naturalized U.S. citizen, lived in Tamarac, Florida, near Fort Lauderdale, and has no criminal record. Solages has official security and firearms licenses, Reuters news services and the Miami Herald have reported.
Solages thought Moses was “crazy” and Moses refused to step down for wrongdoing in Haiti, Solages uncle Schubert Dorisme told reporters in Tamarac, The Haitian Times reported that Dorisme posted audio notes in Creole on the website .
Dorisme said Solages used Tamarac’s address for the postal service and traveled frequently to Haiti.
Two sources in U.S. law enforcement, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an active investigation, told Reuters on Friday that the agencies were investigating U.S. links to the murder but did not want to comment on the two suspected Haitians and Americans.
The Haitian ambassador to the US Bocchit Edmond earlier this week asked the administration of President Joe Biden to impose international financial sanctions on the perpetrators of the assassination, Reuters reported.
“We also urge the Biden Administration to impose sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act on all perpetrators directly responsible for the execution of the assassination or providing assistance and assistance,” according to a letter from the Haitian ambassador to the Secretary of State. Anthony Blinken.
The U.S. announced $ 75.5 million in aid to Haiti in January and provided an additional $ 5 million to strengthen the Haitian National Police’s work with communities against armed groups.
[ad_2]
Source link
