On January 28, the United States Department of Justice announced that it had issued an arrest warrant for a former Haitian government official who is wanted in relation to the killing of Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier and his wife. The suspect has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder abroad, as well as money laundering and violations of U.S. sanctions laws against Haiti by acting on behalf of foreign principals without registration or authorization from the Secretary of State.
The “haitian president assassins caught” is a headline that has been circulating the internet. The article talks about how U.S. authorities have charged another suspect in the killing of Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier.
In connection with the July killing of Haitian President Jovenel Mose, US prosecutors in Miami have arrested and charged a second suspect, demonstrating progress by American investigators even as the six-month investigation in Haiti remains blocked.
Rodolphe Jaar, a Haitian businessman, appeared in federal court in Miami on Thursday on allegations of providing guns, ammunition, and accommodation to former Colombian troops accused of assassinating the president, according to US authorities. Mr. Jaar, who was detained in the Dominican Republic earlier this month, did not enter a plea.
The news comes as Haitian officials have arrested or charged more than 40 persons in connection with Mr. Mose’s assassination at his house on July 7. However, no one has been charged, and it’s still unknown why the president was shot 12 times in his bedroom by gunmen. Martine Mose, his wife, was critically injured in the incident.
Mismanagement claims, charges of suspicious torture, and political intervention have all accompanied the probe in Haiti. Investigators who began investigating into the matter hours after the murder left after receiving threats within weeks.
Because there had been no progress, an investigating judge hearing the case in Haiti stated he had been granted an extension to continue the investigation by his superiors. His predecessor quit last year after one of his staffers was slain in an unexplained case.
Former Colombian soldier Mario Antonio Palacios was the first suspect in the Mose case to be accused in the United States.
DANIEL PONTET/REUTERS/DANIEL PONTET/REUTERS/DANIEL PONTET/REUT
Mr. Jaar, a former DEA agent and convicted narcotics trafficker, is the second defendant to be prosecuted in the United States. Federal authorities accused Mario Antonio Palacios, a former Colombian soldier, with Mr. Moise’s murder earlier this month.
After being captured in Jamaica, a third suspect, John Jol Joseph, a former senator who police in Port-au-Prince believe attended important meetings with accused conspirators and hired automobiles for the assailants, is also anticipated to end up in the United States, according to Haitian officials.
Former Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph has suggested that any important suspects in the case, including the former senator, be brought to the United States to testify in safety rather than being repatriated to Haiti, where they may be assassinated before testifying. He said that one of the suspects imprisoned in Haiti had died under mysterious circumstances.
Mr. Joseph, who is not related to the former senator, stated, “Those guys better be questioned by the US first.” “Anything may happen in Haiti.”
Those worries were mirrored by Haiti’s current justice minister, Berto Dorcé, who recently said in an interview that it would be preferable for US authorities to detain Mr. Joseph, the former senator, due to security concerns.
Mr. Moise’s assassination is being investigated by the US since the conspiracy seems to have been at least partly funded and coordinated in Florida. The Colombian troops were hired by a security agency in Miami. Lawyers defending the president of the security firm claim he was tricked and was unaware of the assassination plan.
“The United States seems to be serious in figuring out what occurred in Miami with the security agency, Haitian Americans, Colombians, and Haitians,” said Robert Fatton, a Haiti researcher at the University of Virginia. “The inquiry in Haiti is at a standstill.”
In Haiti, a day of protest was held earlier this month, after the president’s killing, which has thrown the country into political chaos and instability.
Shutterstock photo by johnson sabin
Mr. Jaar’s evidence might be vital in revealing the specifics of the assassination, which has thrown Haiti into political crisis.
Some Colombian troops claim they were informed the operation’s goal was to apprehend the president rather than kill him. However, according to an affidavit attached to Mr. Jaar’s criminal complaint, he alerted US law enforcement officers before the murder that the operation against Mr. Mose had evolved from apprehending him to killing him.
Former authorities and human-rights groups believe the current Haitian administration lacks the political will to pursue the matter.
“In Haiti, there is no inquiry,” says Pierre Esperance, head of the National Human Rights Defense Network in Haiti. Mr. Esperance claims that the inquiry has been halted at the highest levels of government, including Prime Minister Ariel Henry’s administration, in order to protect persons who may be implicated.
Mr. Henry could not be contacted for comment right away. In the past, the prime minister has denied any role in the death and pledged to seek justice.
In September, Haitian authorities claimed phone records revealed the prime minister was contacted twice by one of the plot’s major suspects on the night of Mr. Moise’s killing. Mr. Henry, on the other hand, said that he had no recollection of conversing with the suspected conspirator, Joseph Felix Badio, that night and blamed the claims against him on political infighting.
—This essay was co-written by Ingrid Arnesen and Arian Campo-Flores.
José de Córdoba may be reached at [email protected]
Copyright ©2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8
The “Haiti the country” is a country that has been plagued by political instability for a long time. The U.S. charges another suspect in the killing of its president. Reference: hati the country.
Related Tags
- does haiti have the death penalty
- haiti news
- haiti assassination
- map of haiti
- haitian culture
