Biden says he does not plan to send troops to Haiti “at the moment”

President BidenJoe Biden Alabama Army Base Orders Troops To Show Evidence Of Vaccination Amid Rising COVID-19 Cases Maricopa County, Ariz., Approves M For New On The Money Counting Machines: Democrats reach agreement on .5T target | Biden rallies Democrats: ‘We’ll get there’ MORE said on Thursday that sending US troops to Haiti was not on the table at the moment as the island nation grapples with the assassination of its president.

“We only send US Marines to our embassy to make sure they are safe and nothing is messed up at all. But the idea of ​​sending US forces to Haiti is out of order. day right now, ”Biden said at a press conference. press conference alongside German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Haiti has called on US troops to help the nation protect critical infrastructure following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse last week.

The White House has not definitively ruled out the possibility of sending US forces, but Biden’s comments are the clearest indication that US military aid is not imminent.

U.S. officials from the Ministries of Justice, Homeland Security, and State, as well as the White House National Security Council, visited Haiti on Sunday to review the country’s security and assist in the investigation of the death of Moses.

The murder of Moses left a power vacuum on the island. Authorities said more than two dozen people were involved in the plot to kill the president, including more than 20 Colombian nationals.

The Pentagon said Thursday that some of the former Colombian servicemen who were arrested in connection with the assassination of the Haitian president had received US military training, the Pentagon confirmed Thursday.

“A review of our training databases indicates that a small number of Colombians detained as part of this investigation had participated in previous US military training and education programs, while serving as active members of the forces Colombian military, ”Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. said. Ken Hoffman said in a statement.

Details of who organized and financed the assassination remain unclear, and news that some of the men involved have received US military training is sure to fuel suspicions about who was behind the attack.

Several of the men involved in the plot met months in advance in Florida and the Dominican Republic to discuss the way forward in Haiti once Moïse was no longer in power, The New York Times reported.

Updated at 19:59