Haiti Police; president assassinated by foreign hitmen
2 min read
Two men believed to be Americans – one of whom was a security guard at the Canadian embassy in Port-au-Prince – have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haitian President Jovel Moise.
Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s election minister, told the Associated Press that one of the men was named James Solages.
The two Americans, originally from Haiti, were among six people arrested in connection with the assassination of President Moise at his private residence on Wednesday morning.
Seven other suspects were killed in a shootout with police, according to Haiti National Police Director Léon Charles.
Peirre did not provide further details about James Solages and the name of the second U.S. citizen. The State Department said it was aware of reports that U.S. citizens had been arrested in connection with Moise’s killing, but could not confirm it.
Solages claims to be a “registered diplomatic representative,” and to running a children’s advocacy organization he founded in Florida in 2019.
The agency’s website states that Solages was a security guard at the Canadian embassy in Haiti. The Canadian embassy has not yet commented on the matter.
Witnesses said the two Americans were found Thursday hiding in a forest in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Haiti’s interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said on Wednesday that the president had “been killed at his home by a group of foreigners who spoke English and Spanish.” Haiti is looga speak French.
Officials have not yet said why it is thought to have encouraged the assassination of President Moise.
Meanwhile, Judge Carl Henry Destin told the Nouvelliste that 12 shots were fired at the president, hitting him in the head, chest, hip and abdomen.
Moise’s wife was injured in the attack and is being treated at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami by helicopter.
Their daughter Jomarlie, who was at home when the attack took place, survived after hiding under a bed, according to Destin.
He added that a maid and two other staff members at the house had their hands and feet tied to the attackers.
Moise, who lacked much support, ruled Haiti, the poorest country in Latin America, by decree after the 2018 parliamentary elections were postponed.
