Colombia president: evidence implicates ex-soldiers in Haiti
Published:Thursday | April 14, 2022 | 9:52 AM
NEW YORK (AP) — Colombian President Iván Duque said Wednesday there is evidence and testimony that seriously implicate “practically all” of the former Colombian soldiers being held in Haiti in the assassination of that country's president, Jovenel Moïse.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Duque said the arrested ex-soldiers still need to be tried, but that “clearly, based on the testimony of many,” it is evident “that there is a level of implication” in the July 7 killing of Moïse, who was assassinated at his home in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince.
More than 40 people have been arrested in Haiti in connection with the killing, including several Haitian police officers, a former Haitian senator and 18 former Colombian soldiers.
Duque struck a harsher tone than in the past regarding the Colombians held in Haiti shortly after the killing.
Previously, he had said a small group of recruiters knew what the real intention of the ex-soldiers' trip to Haiti was and they misrepresented the goal of the mission to the former soldiers.
The president told AP on Wednesday that he never said the former soldiers were misled.
“I have always said that an investigation has to be carried out, and the investigation has been done, and in fact the Colombian police contributed,” he said. “And in fact, one of the people who fled from Haiti, who was later captured, talked about the level of involvement.”
Duque seemed to be referring to Mario Antonio José Palacios, identified as one of the main suspects in Moïse's murder. He is detained in Florida. According to the accusations, Palacios spoke voluntarily and said he was hired to travel to Haiti to offer security and participate in a purported operation to arrest the president.
Families of the ex-soldiers have complained that the detainees have not been able to defend themselves in Haiti and do not have lawyers.
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