Armed men arrested in Haiti back in U.S.

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The U.S. State Department said several men arrested in Haiti with a cache of weapons at a time of violent demonstrations have been returned to the United States before a scheduled court hearing in the Caribbean nation.

The department said in an emailed statement that the return was coordinated with Haitian authorities, but a spokesman for Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant told Radio Vision 2000 on Thursday that he was not aware of the men’s departure and demanded an immediate explanation from the justice minister.

Five U.S. citizens were among eight men arrested Sunday while carrying automatic weapons and other arms and driving in cars without license plates. Police spokesman Michel-Ange Louis-Jeune has said the men told police they were on a “mission,” but they refused to say anything else except that they would call their unidentified bosses.

Prosecutors had said the men would appear in court Wednesday. Instead, they were taken to the airport.

Carel Pedre, a Haitian media personality, said in a video posted on Facebook that he was on a commercial flight to Miami with the men and posted a video of them. He said that when the plane landed, the crew announced that officials would be boarding it before anyone could disembark. He said U.S. officials led the men away.