A US citizen was reportedly among suspects arrested in connection with the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
James Solages, who is of Haitian descent, was one of six people taken into custody in the early Wednesday raid and killing, Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s minister of elections and inter-party relations said Thursday.
On a website for a charity he founded in 2019, Solages describes himself as a ‘certified diplomatic agent’, an up-and-coming politician and a children’s advocate. The charity’s mission is to help residents of the small coastal Haitian town of Jacmel. Solages claimed to have served as a ‘chief of bodyguards’ at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti.
At least one other detainee is also thought to be Haitian American, Pierre told the Washington Post.
Pierre did not provide further information on the nationality of the other detainees.
Four other suspects were killed, according to authorities.
Officials have not supplied evidence of the arrested suspects’ involvement in the 1am attack and killing of Moise.
Officials have said that ‘a highly trained and heavily armed group’ with members speaking English and Spanish were responsible for the attack.
A team of ‘commandos’ broke into the president’s home in the Pelerin 5 neighborhood and ransacked his bedroom and office.
‘We found 12 holes in the president’s body,’ Judge Carl Henry Destin told the Haiti-based newspaper Le Nouvelliste.
Moise’s wounds were from a large-caliber firearm with 9-millimeter rounds, Destin said.
The assailants reportedly shouted ‘DEA operation’, referring to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, as they rushed the residence.
First Lady Martina Moise sustained gunshots wounds in her thigh and arms and had serious abdomen and hand injuries. She was airlifted to South Florida on Wednesday afternoon for medical treatment at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami.
‘Many’ 5.56mm and 7.62mm shells were found between the gatehouse and the home, Destin said.
Police chief Leon Charles said six of the men who killed Mr Moise at the private residence have been captured and officers are hunting for the masterminds behind the operation.
Breaking story, check back for updates…