Two Suspects in Haitian President’s Murder Were US Law Enforcement Informants, Report Says

Haitian police patrol the streets as protests were planned after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 12, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo

Last week, Haitian police arrested two US citizens, Joseph Vincent and James Solages, on suspicion of murdering Haitian President Jovenel Moise in his own residence on Wednesday. Police had 26 other suspects, and 20 have been arrested.

The detained Americans, reportedly involved in Moise’s assassination, were said to be working for American agencies as informants, sources told CNN on Monday. One was said to work for the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“Following the assassination of President Moise, the suspect reached out to his contacts at the DEA. A DEA official assigned to Haiti urged the suspect to surrender to local authorities and, along with a US State Department official, provided information to the Haitian government that assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual,” the DEA said, cited by CNN.

Responding to reports that some of the murderers were shouting “DEA” during the attack, the agency claimed that none acted on its behalf.

As a source close to the investigation told Reuters on Monday, the two arrested said to investigators that they were interpreters for a Colombian commando unit, which reportedly had an arrest warrant for Moise. James Solages was also said to be a “certified diplomatic agent” who worked for some time as a “chief commander of bodyguards” in the Canadian embassy in Haiti.

The assassination

On the night of 7 July, a group of assailants attacked the residence of Haitian president Jovenel Moise. The 53-year-old leader was killed, prompting the country to declare a state of emergency.

Police identified 28 foreign persons related to the assassination, with 20 arrested, including 18 Columbians and two Americans of Haitian origin, Joseph Vincent, 55, and James Solages, 35. On Sunday, the country’s police chief, Leon Charles, revealed that the suspected instigator of the murder is a 63-year-old doctor from Florida, who was also detained.

On Friday, the Haitian government made a request to the United Nations and the US for military units to be deployed in the country to “support the efforts of the national police aiming to reestablish security and public order in the whole territory.”

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said earlier that the request is under consideration at the moment. Meanwhile, a group of Department of Homeland Security and FBI agents was commissioned to enter the country to inquire into the assassination.

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