Two detained in slaying of Haiti president
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Two men believed to be Haitian Americans — one of them purportedly a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port au Prince — have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, Haitian officials said on Thursday.
James Solages and Joseph Vincent were among 17 suspects detained in the brazen killing of President Jovenel Moïse by gunmen at his home in the pre-dawn hours on Wednesday. Fifteen of them are from Colombia, according to Léon Charles, chief of Haiti’s National Police. He added that three other suspects were killed by police and eight others are on the run. Mr Charles had earlier said seven were killed.
“We are going to bring them to justice,” he said as the 17 suspects sat handcuffed on the floor during a news conference on Thursday night.
The oldest suspect is 55 and the youngest, Mr Solages, is 35, according to a document shared by Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s Minister for Elections.
He would not provide additional details about Mr Solages’ background, nor provide the name of the second Haitian American. The US State Department said it was aware of reports that Haitian Americans were in custody but could not confirm or comment.
Mr Solages described himself as a “certified diplomatic agent”, an advocate for children and budding politician on a website for a charity he established in 2019 in south Florida to assist residents.