Authorities in Haiti have arrested two US citizens and 17 alleged ‘foreign mercenaries’ over the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and First Lady Martine were riddled with 12 bullets and he had his eye gouged out during Wednesday’s brutal attack, which killed him and left his wife seriously injured.
James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, both US citizens of Haitian descent, were arrested along with 15 Colombian nationals over Wednesday’s brazen raid on Moïse’s mansion in the hills above Port-au-Prince, according to Haitian police.
Solanges, who lives in Fort Lauderdale, is the president of a charity based in South Florida and claims to be a former bodyguard at Canada’s embassy in Haiti. Vincent lives in the Miami area. Both men were born in Haiti, officials said.
Léon Charles, chief of Haiti’s National Police also clarified that only three other suspects were killed by police, and not as earlier reported, adding that eight others are on the run. He identified all the dead and at-large suspects as Colombians.
Foreigners came to our country to kill the president,’ Charles said. ‘There were … 26 Colombians, identified by their passports … and two Haitian Americans as well.’
‘We are going to bring them to justice,’ he said as the 17 suspects sat handcuffed on the floor during a press conference on Thursday night, where a variety of weapons and Colombian passports were arrayed on a table.
Haitian authorities have still not revealed a motive for the killing, what evidence led them to the suspects, or who they believe masterminded the plot.