MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Retired Colombia military allegedly involved in killing of Haitian president

Haiti Police Chief Léon Charles announced the arrest of 15 Colombian citizens and two Americans

Colombia's Defense Minister Diego Molano Thursday confirmed Interpol had requested information about retired military personnel who were allegedly involved in the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse.

However, Molano released no details as to the number or the identities of the suspects. But in Port-au-Prince, Police Chief Léon Charles announced in a press conference the arrest of 15 Colombian citizens and two Americans.

Molano insisted the Colombian Government was at the disposal of the “sister Republic of Haiti” and that local officials had been instructed to help in every way possible.

Colombian Police Director General Jorge Luis Vargas said a request for information had been made from Interpol's “national central office” in Port-au-Prince to their office in Bogotá,

Hours earlier, in Washington DC, Colombian Foreign Minister and Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez had denied knowing whether citizens of her country were involved in the crime, as several newspapers in the Dominican Republic had reported.

“Whatever it is, if it is a conspiracy that has international actors and some of them turn out to be Colombian, let the full weight of justice fall on them, because Colombia cannot, in any way, make the headlines of the international press on behalf of some criminals or some hitmen,” said Ramírez.

According to Bogotá's newspaper El Tiempo, two Haitian detainees confessed that ”the mission was to arrest President Moïse... and not to kill him.”

Meanwhile, First Lady Martine Moïse, who was wounded in the attack and was flown to the Jackson Memorial trauma centre in Miami, was reported Thursday to be stable, but in a critical condition.

The crime opened a new chapter in the political crisis which erupted in 2018 due to allegations of corruption. The president faced massive demonstrations in recent months that often resulted in looting, violence and deaths.

The White House has announced it wanted to assist in the investigation into the assassination of President Moïse.