Deutsche Welle (English edition)

Haiti president assassinat­ion: Former official among suspects

A former Haitian Justice Ministry official is now a suspect in the investigat­ion into the assassinat­ion of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise.

-

Colombia's chief of police, General Jorge Vargas, believes former Haitian official Joseph Felix Badio could have ordered the assassinat­ion of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise. Moise was shot dead in his private residence by a group of armed gunmen on July 7. The circumstan­ces surroundin­g his killing remain murky and it has plunged the country deeper into turmoil.

What we know so far

Gunmen raided Moise's private residence in the pre-dawn attack. The president was shot multiple times and his wife was critically injured.

The gunmen managed to flee the scene but were tracked down by police and apprehende­d following a gunfight.

Haitian police managed to arrest most of the 26 Colombians who are suspected of being part of the attack.

The Colombian connection According to Colombia's Defense Minister Diego Molano, the Colombians suspected of being involved in Moise's assassinat­ion are former members of the armed forces, who had gone to Haiti to work as bodyguards.

The Pentagon said a small number of those detained had received training with the US military while serving as members of Colombia's military.

The suspected mastermind­s

While Colombian authoritie­s point the finger at former Haitian Justice Ministry official Jospeh Felix Badio, authoritie­s in Haiti have detained a Florida-based doctor, and are accusing him of being one of the mastermind­s. Haiti's national police chief Leon Charles has identified former senator John Joel Joseph as being a key role player. Moise's head of security, Dimitri Herard, has also been taken into custody.

The president's assassinat­ion has caused huge political uncertaint­y, and the interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has ap

pealed to the US to help guard critical infrastruc­ture and national keypoints. While the US has given no pledges when it comes to providing security, it has said it will assist with any investigat­ion.

 ??  ?? Haitian police managed to arrest most of the gunmen suspected of assassinat­ing President Jovenel Moise
Haitian police managed to arrest most of the gunmen suspected of assassinat­ing President Jovenel Moise
 ??  ?? The list of suspects in the assassinat­ion of Haiti's president continues to grow
The list of suspects in the assassinat­ion of Haiti's president continues to grow

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Germany