The Haitian Police Force have disclosed that 18 Colombians and three Haitians, including two who also hold dual US citizenship, linked to the July 7 killing of President Jovenel Moise have been arrested. According to police, the gang was led by a Haitian doctor from Florida who was also arrested.
John Joel Joseph, a former senator, is a well-known politician who has previously opposed Moise’s Tet Kale party, Joseph Felix Badio, the former official, worked for the Justice Ministry and the government’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ULCC) are prime suspects in the gruesome murder of the Haitian President.
After the announcement, ULCC issued a press release stating that he was fired in May for major ethical violations. Authors, co-authors, and accomplices must be tracked down, investigated, and punished harshly, the statement read in part.
Rodolphe Jaar, aka Whiskey, is a Haitian businessman who was previously charged by US federal authorities with plotting to sell cocaine in the United States. His lawyer told a US judge in 2015 that his client had been a confidential source for the US government for several years before his arrest, according to the Associated Press, he is also a suspect in the murder case of the former President.
Assassination, attempted murder, and armed robbery are some the charges levelled against the trio. Jovenel Moise was shot repeatedly in his private residence in Port-au-Prince before he died, his wife left severely injured.
Aside from the criminal investigation into Moise’s assassination, the Haitian government is also attempting to prepare a national burial for the slain president. The government’s current priorities, according to Haiti’s interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, remain pursuing the investigation to bring justice to the president’s family and also planning a national burial for the president, whose legitimacy as the executive head of government in Haiti is questioned by the opposition.
The continuing criminal inquiry, according to Joseph, is a “highly delicate” topic. He stated that there are numerous measures that must be taken. In the aftermath of Moise’s assassination, the acting prime minister has requested US and UN soldiers to assist in the protection of critical infrastructure.
His argument, however, did not go over well with Haitians who are skeptical of foreign meddling. Retired commanders from the Haitian Military Association urged society to spare Haiti the “embarrassment” of military involvement. According to a statement reported by Reuters news agency, the group lambasted the interim government’s lack of “patriotic” planning, accusing it of preferring to rush into the comfort of a request for intervention on national territory.