The Assassination of President Jovenel Moïse: Foreigners Came to Haiti and Assassinated The Haitian President, According to Police
9 July 2021
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AGN.News) – A nationwide search for the assassins of President Jovenel Moïse (53) has resulted in the capture of 28 foreign mercenaries, including 2 Haitian-Americans and retired Colombian soldiers.
An ongoing police operation has resulted in the capture of foreigners who came to Haiti to kill the President, police say.
What is the timeline of the attack?
Media reports indicate that some of the suspects flew from Colombia to the Dominican Republic on 4 June. They stayed in a resort in the country. Posing as tourists, they took pictures and posted them on social media (as part of their cover) all the time planning their mission to assassinate the President of Haiti.
On 6 June the group of suspects crossed the international border from the Dominican Republic into Haiti (both countries share the island of Hispaniola).
They then went to a house they were using to put the finishing touches on the plot to assassinate the President of Haiti.
Several hours later, with all of the hit squad in place, at 1:00 am local time on Wednesday, 7 July (one hour after midnight) they assassins attacked the private resident of President Jovenel Moïse and shot him 12 times in his bedroom and also shot the First Lady of Haiti, Martine Moïse.
Some of the assassins who shot and killed President Jovenel Moïse (12 times in his bedroom) and critically injured his wife entered Haiti from Columbia, via the Dominican Republic, according to police. Their exit, after the attack, was to return to the Dominican Republic in route to a pre-planned location.
The manhunt for the assassins
A nationwide search for the assassins began. Martial law was declared. Law enforcement, police and military units searched for the… on the run assassins which resulted in multiple shootouts.
Throughout the day, into the night, the suspects were tracked down with the full cooperation on local citizens. Several get-away cars were torched by angry citizens preventing their escape.
Some media reports indicate the plan was to quietly return to the Dominican Republic, while still posing as tourists, but the border was closed and secured by Dominican Republic security personnel.
With no route of escape from Haiti available, some decided to confront law enforcement in a house they were using in Port-au-Prince where some were killed in a shootout. Some voluntarily or involuntarily surrendered to police as the video above shows. Some of the suspects are still at-large and being hunted by police.
The assassins and weapons on display
On 9 July, a group of alleged assassins were paraded before the media on today. They were on the run from law enforcement for hours but were captured and some killed in a shootout with police. The group included 15 Colombians and two Haitian-Americans.
As police was briefing reporters on what had transpired, a group of men sat on the floor behind the speakers. Colombian passports, automatic weapons, pistols and other weapons were displayed by police. All of these weapons were used by the suspects.
There is a total of 28 suspects in total, of which 17 have been apprehended, 3 have been killed and 8 remain at large.
The East Asia nation of Taiwan confirmed that 11 of the suspects had broken into their diplomatic mission’s courtyard to evade law enforcement, but were captured.
Who are the assassins?
Two men, identified as Haitian-Americans, were among the suspected assassins. They were identified as James Solages and Joseph Vincent.
US and Canadian media are reporting that one of the dual citizens arrested, James Solages, 35, is from Florida and was a former bodyguard at the Canadian embassy in Haiti.
An investigating judge told local media that Mr Solages and the other US citizen, named as Joseph Vincent, had said they were there as translators for the mercenaries, after finding the job on the internet.
According to Nouvelliste newspaper, Judge Clément Noël said, “The mission was to arrest President Jovenel Moïse… and not to kill him”.
Media reports say that Colombia has confirmed that at least six of the detainees are former members of the country’s armed forces.
The two Colombians found dead near the president’s residence have been named by Haitian officials as Mauricio Javier Romeo Medina (45) and Duberney Capador Giraldo (40). Both were former sergeants in the armed forces of Columbia.
One suspect was found dead on the roof of a building where he bled to death from wounds from a shootout with police.
What did the assassins do?
The hit squad composed mostly of retired Colombian soldiers assassinated Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse on Wednesday at 1:00 am local time this week, police say.
What have the police said?
On 7 July, Chief Léon Charles told reporters in Port-au-Prince that two other suspects, whom he described as “mercenaries,” were arrested during the shootout. Their attempt to overthrow the Haitian Government has failed.
On 8 July, National Police Director Léon Charles told Haiti’s Radio Métropole on Thursday that six people have been arrested and seven killed in gun battles with cops, as more suspects were still being sought.
The group included 26 Colombians and two Americans of Haitian origin, police chief Léon Charles told reporters. Eight of the suspects are still on the run, while 17, including the two Americans, have been arrested.
The remaining suspects were shot dead during gun battles with the police in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
This is an ongoing report, so stay tuned for updates.
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