Former soldiers, security officials and businessmen plotted to kill Haitian president, officials say

The larger group of former soldiers, security officials and businessmen named Thursday by Colombian and Haitian officials has formed an unusual group of so-called rebels. Haitian police said the group was led by Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a self-proclaimed pastor and doctor who authorities in Port-au-Prince have arrested in recent days as a suspected leader. Another person arrested by Haitian police is Haitian-American translator James Solages, officials said Thursday.

The developments out of Colombia come as Haitian authorities have released new allegations linking a growing group of people to the plot against Mr. Moïse. In total, Haitian authorities now say more than 30 suspects in Haiti, the United States and Colombia played a role in the plot. Among them are businessmen, former officials and a former police commander.

In Washington, a senior administration official who was a member of a US delegation that visited Haiti recently said that eight Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were in Port-au-Prince to assist police in the investigation. Other agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice are also participating in the investigation, including efforts to trace the origin of the weapons allegedly used in the murder, the official said.

While Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has been challenged by other leaders who say they should run the country, the US official stressed that the United States has “been very careful not to support person as the legitimate president or prime minister of the country. . “This has led US officials to hire various political leaders.

Mr. Joseph’s administration has asked for US help to restore order in a country plagued by violence, but President Biden reiterated Thursday that the only US troops in Haiti will be embassy guards.

“The idea of ​​sending American forces to Haiti is not on the agenda at the moment,” he told reporters at the White House.

In Colombia, which is also investigating, officials said MM. Rivera and Capador were the liaison between the ringleaders and a group of former Colombian servicemen who were recruited by Miami-based security firm CTU. The former soldiers were recently hired on the pretext that they were going to work in security in Haiti, Colombian authorities say.

CTU, which Haitian officials say was at the heart of the plot, did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.

“Capador and Rivera are the ones who planned and organized the alleged operation,” Vargas said Thursday, referring to the two men’s role in recruiting other former soldiers. Mr. Vargas said most of the former soldiers were unaware that the people who hired them to work in Haiti planned to oust Mr. Moïse.

People the Haitian government identified as suspects could not be reached for comment, and it was not known if they had lawyers. The Haitian government declined to give details of the case.

General Vargas said the ringleaders told most Colombian soldiers in Haiti that a plan was underway to capture Mr. Moïse.

But General Vargas said Mr. Rivera received a payment of $ 50,000 sent to him by the United States to Colombia, money which Colombian investigators said was to be used for travel related to the alleged conspiracy.

In the early morning hours of July 7, seven of the former soldiers entered Mr. Moïse’s house, where he was killed, and the others remained outside, General Vargas said. He said Colombian investigators were looking for three Colombians, including a former Colombian soldier, who were in Haiti but left home before the plot was carried out.

A former adviser to Mr Moïse said the president expressed concerns for his safety earlier this year and that authorities uncovered a plot to kill him in February, when his tenure was due to end.

Haitian authorities say one of the assassination planning meetings took place at an office of Worldwide Capital Lending Group, based in Miramar, Fla., North of Miami. A photo they provided showed those present included Dr. Sanon; Mr. Solages; Antonio Intriago, head of security at CTU; and Walter Veintemilla, president of Worldwide Capital.

Mr. Intriago did not return messages seeking comment. A Worldwide Capital lawyer provided a statement saying the firm had been approached by Dr Sanon, as well as current and former elected officials in Haiti, for assistance in securing funding for infrastructure projects in Haiti. Dr Sanon expressed his intention to make a peaceful change of leadership, the statement said.

Worldwide Capital “helped provide a loan to CTU to fund Dr. Sanon’s efforts,” the statement said. “At no time during a meeting or conversation with Dr. Sanon or any of his representatives was there any mention, discussion or suggestion of an assassination plot against President Moïse. or the intention to use force to bring about a change of leadership in Haiti. “

Parnell Duverger, a retired professor of economics at Broward College in Fort Lauderdale, said he has participated in at least 10 online meetings with Dr Sanon over the past year and a half to discuss a plan for economic development for Haiti created by Mr. Duverger. He said Dr Sanon, whom he met in 2016, was considering becoming prime minister and was preparing for the eventuality.

At a face-to-face meeting in Fort Lauderdale in May, Duverger said he and an engineer made a presentation on the economic development plan. Dr Sanon, Mr Intriago and Mr Veintemilla were present, he said.

But the discussion at that meeting and others never involved a plan to force a change of political leadership in Haiti, he said.

Dr Sanon seemed naive to him about the brutality of Haitian politics, Duverger said. When he heard the news of the charges against Dr. Sanon, he said he was flabbergasted.

“It didn’t sound like the person I met,” Mr. Duverger said. “I think he’s probably been played.”

—Vivian Salama in Washington, DC, Ryan Dube in Miami, and Jenny Carolina Gonzalez in Bogotá, Colombia, contributed to this article.

Write to Juan Forero and [email protected] and Arian Campo-Flores and [email protected]