Haiti: a Colombo-American commando allegedly assassinated President Jovenele Moise | Police presented the suspects in handcuffs and sitting on the floor of a police station

Sitting with his hands handcuffed behind his back, some of them bloody, it was then that the Haitian Police presented 15 Colombian suspects in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Later, two Americans of Haitian descent joined the detainees. “We have arrested 15 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian descent. Three Colombians are dead and eight others are on the run,” said the director of the Haitian Police Leon charles. more Prime Minister Claude Joseph declared a state of siege for at least 15 days, the capital prosecutor’s office called on the president’s security officials to declare. Acting Prime Minister Joseph effectively took office after Moses’ death. However, the position is contested by the politician Ariel henri, which Moses had appointed to the post of Prime Minister in the last decree he had signed before his death. In the midst of power struggles, a whole country wonders who sent an armed band of “mercenaries” to kill its president.

The investigation

Haitian Police officers introduced the 15 “mercenaries” to journalists at the headquarters of the General Directorate of Judicial Power, sitting on the floor with their backs against the wall, their wrists tied with plastic handcuffs, several in dusty clothes, one with a bare chest, another with a torn sweater, a third with a swollen face.

Later, a group of people captured two foreigners and handed them over to a police station in Port-au-Prince. The individuals, later identified as the American suspects, were beaten and one was bloodied upon his arrival at the police station, according to an EFE reporter. The people who caught the aliens also gave the police two gun magazines, a saw and other items. Mathias Pierre, Minister responsible for electoral affairs, declared in the morning The Washington Post that one of the American prisoners is Jacques Solages, a citizen of South Florida.

Charles, the police chief, said the weapons and equipment used by the attackers were recovered. “Five cars were recovered. Unfortunately, people set three on fire,” he added, referring to civilians who closely follow the police during the raids. “We have the physical perpetrators (of the assassination) and we are looking for the intellectuals”, Charles said in a statement provided with Prime Minister Joseph on the progress of the investigation.

The death toll in the storming of the presidential palace has generated some information. Police chief Charles first said four assailants were killed, including three foreigners, and then reduced that number to three Colombians. However, media such as the British The Guardian and german german wave, Citing police sources, they said Haitian security forces killed seven suspects after the attack on the president.

The Port-au-Prince prosecutor’s office called on Moise’s bodyguards to testify on July 13 and 14, the Attorney General of the Haitian capital announced Thursday. “If you are responsible for the president’s security, where have you been? What did you do to avoid this fate for the president? he wondered Me Bed-Ford Claude, government commissioner of Port-au-Prince.

Joseph asked the mobilized population to search for the suspects “to be smart” and to hand them over to the authorities. “We need to know the reasons that prompted these men to enter the president’s house to assassinate him,” said the acting prime minister, who also called on citizens to “go home” and remain calm. “The armed forces and the police are in control. Problems must be avoided. Do not let anyone lead us into a confused situation,” he stressed. The Prime Minister also reported that the state of health of the first lady, Martine Moïse remains “stable” and is hospitalized in the United States after being injured in the attack.

Ask the UN

Haiti has asked for international support in the investigation of the murder and also in terms of security. Following a closed-door meeting of the United Nations Security Council called urgently to address the crisis, Helen La Lime, UN special envoy to Haiti, reported on the Haitian government’s request and asked the Caribbean government for further information. “It is important that these requests are taken seriously. We (the United Nations political mission in Haiti) are certainly prepared with the experts we have to assist in this investigation, ”La Lime said via videoconference. “Haiti must specify exactly what it is looking for and, in the meantime, we must continue to use the technical security assistance that we have on the ground,” he said.

United States offers help

From the White House, they said they wanted to help with the investigation into the assassination in Haiti but that they have not yet received a request for help from the Caribbean country. “Our message to the Haitian people is that we are with them and that we want to bring them help,” said the White House spokesperson Jen Psaki, who avoided explicitly endorsing Joseph, whose position is currently being challenged by politician Ariel Henry. However, the State Department spokesperson Ned Price asserted that Washington considers Joseph to be the prime minister of Haiti. “He (Claude Joseph) was the incumbent who held this position, he held the position of Prime Minister before the assassination of President Moïse and we will continue to work with Claude Joseph as such”, declared Price during a conference Press. Too He urged Joseph to call presidential and legislative elections on the scheduled date of September 26. Since Wednesday, Joseph has led two government speeches to the press and also met with representatives of the international community, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Power auction

The UN recognizes Joseph as prime minister until the next elections are held. This Thursday the United Nations representative for Haiti, Helen La Lime He asserted that Joseph “is the prime minister” and that according to the interpretation of the Constitution which he transferred to him, it is up to his government to rule the country and lead him to the holding of elections to elect a new president. On the other hand, Lime acknowledged that there are “certain tensions” and different interpretations of the constitution and called for political dialogue.

On the other hand, Moise’s dolphin, Ariel Henry, calls himself prime minister, but agrees on the need for a political agreement. “I am the Prime Minister designate, Claude was an interim Prime Minister who took over as Minister of Foreign Affairs. I think we need to talk to each other. Claude was supposed to stay in the government I was going to form,” s’ is he complaining. Ariel Henry last night in a newspaper interview The Nouvelliste. Moses had appointed Henry Prime Minister in the last decree he signed before his death. “He will have to form an Open Government which includes the vital forces of the Nation, resolve the glaring problem of insecurity and support the CEP (electoral authority) in the conduct of general elections and the referendum. », Wrote Moïse last Monday on his Twitter. Account.

Henry said he “chooses the members of my cabinet” and stressed that he is well advanced in forming the government. “I must continue, but in the current context, I think there is an opportunity for dialogue to reach an agreement that allows us to have a better climate during the elections and to have a government that can also create that climate. “, did he declare. In addition, he said he did not want to “add fuel to the fire” and asked “to avoid it as much as possible while the country is on fire”.

Site status

Joseph imposed a state of siege for at least 15 days and also declared national mourning for two weeks. Joseph asked citizens to stay at home while small businesses, gas stations, banks, stores were also closing. This Thursday, the Prime Minister announced that Toussaint Louverture Airport in Port-au-Prince will reopen, which was closed on Wednesday, hours after the assassination, and since then only diplomatic and humanitarian flights have been allowed to operate. The border with the Dominican Republic has been closed and the Bahamas have indicated that they will tighten security checks at their borders and also indicated that they will close their embassy in Haiti.

Henry clarified that he did not agree with the state of emergency imposed by Joseph: “I don’t think we are in a situation that requires a state of siege. I think it is a bit rushed, ”he said. The Haitian opposition demanded the departure of Moïse from power on the grounds that his term ended on February 7, while the president insisted on February 2022 as the end of his term of government. The president has not called an election since taking office in 2017. Accused of inaction in the face of the crisis and confronted by a large part of civil society, Moïse ruled the country of 11 million people mainly by decree.