2 Haitian Americans detained in assassination

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, were arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti’s president, a senior Haitian official said Thursday.

Mathias Pierre, Haiti’s minister of elections, told The Associated Press that James Solages was among six people arrested in the 36 hours since the brazen killing of President Jovenel Moise by gunmen at his home in the pre-dawn hours Wednesday.

Four other suspected assailants were killed and two were still missing, Pierre said.

Pierre would not provide additional details about Solages’ background, nor would he provide the name of the second Haitian-American he said was arrested.

Solages describes 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.

On his bio page for the charity, Solages said he previously worked as a bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. Calls to the foundation and Solages’ associates at the charity either did not go through or were not answered.

“The pursuit of the mercenaries continues,” said Léon Charles, director of Haiti’s National Police, in announcing the arrest of suspects. “Their fate is fixed: They will fall in the fighting or will be arrested.”

Witnesses said two suspects were discovered hiding in bushes in Port-au-Prince on Thursday by a crowd, some of whom grabbed the men by their shirts and pants, pushing them and occasionally slapping them.

Police arrived shortly afterward to arrest the men, who were sweating heavily and wearing clothes that seemed to be smeared with mud, an Associated Press journalist at the scene said. Officers placed them in the back of a pickup truck and drove away as the crowd ran after them to the nearby police station.