Families fear jailed Colombians accused in plot to kill Moïse are in danger as Haiti descends into chaos
Haiti appears to be descending into anarchy, the families of the 17 Colombian former soldiers accused of participating in the 2021 assassination of the country’s president said Friday they fear for their lives, particularly now that they have been taken to a jail near where armed gangs are fighting police.
“They are totally exposed,” said Milena Carmona, wife of retired Lt. Jheyner Alberto Carmona, one of the imprisoned Colombians. “I don’t know what the authorities are waiting for. They need to be taken out of there because where they are being held is very close to the airport and that area has been taken over.”
Gangs, which in the past few days have moved quickly to take control of the country’s infrastructure, have surrounded the international airport in Portau-Prince, prompting the cancellation of all internaquarters tional flights, including a U.S. deportation flight that was scheduled for Thursday.
The gangs had already blocked the roads to the capital and on Thursday, they attacked the seaport, looting hundreds of food containers and other shipments. The violence has left Haitians in the capital running low on food, fuel and water.
Carmona, a spokesperson for the Colombian families, told the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald that they have not heard from their loved ones since they emerged unharmed from a massive gang-led prison break of the National Penitentiary on Saturday. Most of the prison’s 3,696 inmates, including kidnappers and high-profile gang leaders, escaped.
The Colombians were among only a handful who stayed behind, not daring to step out because they feared they would be killed. Late Sunday night, they were transferred to a detention center inside the headAs of the judicial police. The facility is located not far from the international and domestic airports, which have been targeted by gangs since last week.
The former soldiers’ families claim the detention center is also where their loved ones were tortured by police after they were captured hours after the July 7, 2021, slaying of President Jovenel Moïse.
Last month, after being imprisoned for over two years without formal charges, the 17 Colombians were among dozens of individuals in Haiti indicted by an investigative judge in the assassination plot. While not outright accused of killing the president, the former soldiers are charged with participating in the plot, which in Haiti carries a potential sentence as severe as the one for murder, according to lawyers advising the families
Carmona said there is no chance of getting a fair trial in a country where the government is falling apart. She is urging the government of Colombian President Gustavo Petro to intervene and secure the men’s transfer to be tried in their home country.
“Haiti is a disaster and does not have a legitimate government. Even its own prime minister has not been able to return,” she said, referring to Ariel Henry, who remains in Puerto Rico as the country’s airports remain closed to international air traffic. “They cannot ensure their safety and there are legal means the [Colombian] government can use to bring them back. That is what we are asking, because there is nothing else that can be done for them inside Haiti.”
THEY NEED TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THERE BECAUSE WHERE THEY ARE BEING HELD IS VERY CLOSE TO THE AIRPORT AND THAT AREA HAS BEEN TAKEN OVER. Milena Carmona, wife of retired Lt. Jheyner Alberto Carmona, one of the imprisoned Colombians