Two U.S. citizens are among the 17 people detained in Haiti on suspicion of involvement in a hit squad of "mercenaries" that assassinated Haitian president Jovenel Moise earlier this week, officials in the country say.
James Solages and Joseph Vincent, U.S. naturalized citizens from Haiti, were among those detained in connection with the brazen assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday, Haiti's Elections Minister Mathias Pierre told CNN on Friday.
Léon Charles, the chief of the National Police in the country, said that the other 15 detainees are from Colombia, The Associated Press reports. Colombia, for its part, said that six of the people suspected of being part of the group that prepared and executed the plan to assassinate Haiti's president were retired members of the Colombian army.
Charles said that in total 28 people were involved in Moise's assassination, including 26 Colombians and the two Haitian-Americans.
Of the 28 people allegedly involved in the assassination, 17 are detained, three were killed, and eight others are on the run, the chief of Haiti's police said.
Moise was assassinated in his home early on Wednesday in an attack that raised concerns that the widespread gang violence and turmoil would escalate.
Moise ruled by decree for over a year after the Caribbean nation failed to hold elections. The local opposition had been demanding that Moise resign. The assassinated president was looking to pass a controversial reform in Haiti's constitution.
Haiti, considered the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere, has seen an escalation in street violence in recent months. Gang battles have been causing gasoline shortages in the country because shootouts on the streets prevent regular fuel distribution.
The U.S. has responded to Haiti's National Police request to assist in the investigation of the assassination, U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters on Thursday, adding that the situation is "evolving rapidly."
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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