Leaked testimony from Haiti suspects says plan was to arrest, not kill president
A group of Colombians and Haitian Americans suspected of assassinating Haitian President Jovenel Moise told investigators they were there to arrest him, not kill him, the Miami Herald and a person familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Moise was shot dead early on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home by what Haitian authorities say was a unit of assassins made up of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, plunging the troubled Caribbean nation into deeper turmoil.
The murder and uncertainty about who hatched the plot is the latest in a succession of blows to hit the struggling country, which has appealed for international help.
Washington has so far rebuffed Haiti's request for troops, though a senior U.S. official said on Sunday that Washington was sending a technical team to assess the situation.
Citing people who had spoken to some of the 19 suspects detained so far, the Miami Herald said they said their mission was to arrest Moise and take him to the presidential palace.
A source close to the investigation said the two Haitian Americans, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, told investigators they were translators for the Colombian commando unit that had an arrest warrant. But when they arrived, they found him dead.
Haitian police did not reply to a request for comment.
The news follows reports that some of the Colombians had said they had gone to work as security personnel on Haiti, including for Moise himself.
The Miami Herald reported the detained Colombians said they were hired to work in Haiti by Miami-based company CTU Security, run by Venezuelan emigre Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera.
Neither CTU nor Intriago could be reached for comment.
One phone number associated with the company in public records sent calls to an answering machine that made a reference to the fictional TV character Jack Bauer, who fought terrorism in the series "24."
"Thank you for calling CTU security. For Tony Intriago please leave a message or send a text. For Jack Bauer wait for the next season. Thank you for calling and have a great day."
Social media profiles that appeared to belong to Intriago included a Facebook photo showing a man in tactical gear pointing a high-powered rifle. Other photos on Instagram showed ammunition, guns, and people engaged in tactical training.
VIOLENT END
Photos and X-ray images posted on social media at the weekend said to be from Moise's autopsy showed his body riddled with bullet holes, a fractured skull and other broken bones, underscoring the brutal nature of the attack.
Reuters could not independently confirm their authenticity.
Via social media, Haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince were planning protests this week against the interim prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph.
Joseph's right to lead the country has been challenged by other senior politicians, threatening to exacerbate the turmoil engulfing the poorest country in the Americas.
Meanwhile, one of Haiti's top gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue, said on Saturday his men would take to the streets to protest the assassination.
Cherizier, boss of the so-called G9 federation of nine gangs, said police and opposition politicians had conspired with the "stinking bourgeoisie" to "sacrifice" Moise.
Gunfire rang out overnight in the capital, which has suffered a surge in gang violence in recent months, displacing thousands and hampering economic activity.
PENTAGON SAYS US TEAM GOING TO HAITI TO ASSESS NEEDS
A team of U.S. security and law enforcement experts is traveling to Haiti to determine what assistance Washington can provide following the assassination of the Haitian president last week, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
"Today, an inter-agency team largely from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are heading down to Haiti right now to see what we can to do help in the investigative process," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told "Fox News Sunday."
"That's really where our energies are best applied right now - in helping them get their arms around investigating this incident and figuring out who's culpable ... and how best to hold them accountable," Kirby said in the interview.
President Joe Biden will be briefed by the team when it returns and "then make decisions about the way forward," a senior Biden administration official told Reuters separately.
Haiti has sought U.S. aid in securing the country and investigating the attack that killed President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday at his Port-au-Prince home and plunged the impoverished island nation further into turmoil. Haitian authorities have said two Haitian Americans were among the suspected assassins.
It was not immediately clear how long the U.S. team would remain in Haiti. The administration official said on Sunday that Washington would also consult with its regional partners and the United Nations.
The United States has so far rebuffed Haiti's request for troops, while the United Nations would need Security Council authorization to send armed forces.
Kirby said: "We're analyzing it just like we would any other request for assistance at the Pentagon. It's going through a review."
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