Two American Citizens Arrested, Suspected of Direct Involvement in Bloody Assassination of Haitian President
Two Florida men have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, according to Haiti police.
James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55, were identified as suspected assailants by Mathias Pierre, a minister in charge of Haitian elections, the Miami Herald reported.
Both Florida men are originally from Haiti but are now American citizens.
Solages, who lived in Fort Lauderdale and is from Jacmel in southeast Haiti, described himself in an undated video interview as a philanthropist and child advocate. Vincent is from the Miami area.
Fifteen Columbian nationals were also arrested Thursday in connection with the assassination.
Police said that three of the assailants, also from Colombia, had been killed. That number was revised from the earlier reported seven that were reported dead after a firefight Wednesday.
Haiti police are still searching for eight other assailants.
Moïse was assassinated Wednesday when gunmen raided his home, according to the Miami Herald.
Video footage that was taken early Wednesday, appears to show moments before Moïse’s assassination, during which the gunmen claimed to be with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some viewers may find offensive.
The assassination of #Haiti‘s puppet tyrant Jovenel Moïse was well-planned and well-executed. The assassins presented themselves as DEA agents and disarmed his security. The mercenaries were described as white, and their helper / translator spoke in English and Haitian Creole. pic.twitter.com/oY5kmNICBX
— Madame Boukman – Justice 4 Haiti ?? (@madanboukman) July 8, 2021
“DEA operation. Everybody stand down. DEA operation. Everybody back up, stand down,” a voice rings out over a loudspeaker, according to a video obtained by the Herald.
Both Haitian and U.S. officials said there was no DEA involvement in the assassination of Moïse.
A crowd in the Haitian neighborhood of Petion-Ville captured two foreigners suspected of involvement in Moïse’s assassination and video footage showed them pulling the two men to the police station.
One of the men was shirtless and tied with a rope, according to the Miami Herald.
Leon Charles, the interim national police director, confirmed that the two men were among the suspects but did not explain how the crowd knew the men were involved in the assassination.
A large crowd outside the police station burned several vehicles presumed to be used by the assailants and demanded the police turn the suspects over to them.
Charles said that along with searching for the remaining suspects, the police want “to find out how they did this.”
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