Colombia describes travel by suspects in Haiti assassination

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The Colombians implicated in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were recruited by four companies and travelled to the Caribbean nation in two groups via the Dominican Republic, the head of Colombia's police said Friday.

The United States said it would send senior FBI and Homeland Security officials to help in the investigation.

Haitian National Police Chief Léon Charles said 17 suspects have been detained in the brazen killing of Moïse that stunned a nation already reeling from poverty, widespread violence, and political instability.

As the investigation moved forward, the killing took on the air of a complicated international conspiracy.

Besides the Colombians, among those detained by police were two Haitian-Americans who have been described as translators for the attackers.

Some of the suspects were seized in a raid on Taiwan's Embassy where they are believed to have sought refuge

At a news conference in Colombia's capital of Bogota, General Jorge Luis Vargas Valencia said four companies had been involved in the “recruitment, the gathering of these people” implicated in the assassination, although he did not identify the companies because their names were still being verified.

Two of the suspects travelled to Haiti via Panama and the Dominican Republic, Vargas said, while the second group of 11 arrived in Haiti on July 4 from the Dominican Republic.

In Washington, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said senior FBI and Department of Homeland Security officials will be sent to Haiti “as soon as possible to assess the situation and how we may be able to assist.”

“The United States remains engaged and in close consultations with our Haitian and international partners to support the Haitian people in the aftermath of the assassination of the president,” Psaki said.

Another eight suspects are still at large, said Haitian National Police Chief Léon Charles.

“We are going to bring them to justice,” the police chief said, as the 17 handcuffed suspects sat on the floor during a news conference Thursday.

Investigative Judge Clément Noël told the French-language newspaper Le Nouvelliste that the Haitian-Americans arrested, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, said the attackers originally planned only to arrest Moïse, not kill him.

Noël said Solages and Vincent were acting as translators for the attackers, the newspaper reported Friday.

The attack, which took place at Moïse's home before dawn Wednesday also seriously wounded his wife, who was flown to Miami for treatment.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph assumed leadership with the backing of police and the military and declared a two-week “state of siege.”

Port-au-Prince already has been on edge amid the growing power of gangs that displaced more than 14,700 people last month alone as they torched and ransacked homes in a fight over territory.

The killing brought the usually bustling capital to a standstill, but Joseph urged the public to return to work.

Street markets, supermarkets, banks and gas stations reopened Friday, and people lined up to buy fuel again.

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