Four Suspects in Haitian President Killing Sent to US

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Facts

  • Four key suspects in the killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse have been transferred to the United States for prosecution, US officials announced on Tuesday.1
  • The progress in the case has reportedly stalled in Haiti amid death threats against local judges. The suspects in custody include James Solages and Joseph Vincent who are both Haitian-Americans who were among the first arrested after the president's murder.2
  • Solages and Vincent are joined by another Haitain-American, Christian Sanon, and Colombian Germán Rivera García. A total of seven suspects in the case are now in US custody, while dozens more remain in Haiti's main penitentiary.3
  • Three of the four moved into US custody, set to face trial in Miami on Wednesday, are being directly charged with conspiring in Florida to commit crimes. These crimes include Moïse's abduction which led to his murder in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021.4
  • Sanon is facing charges of conspiring to smuggle goods from the US and providing unlawful export information — with court documents stating that he allegedly shipped 20 ballistic vests to Haiti.5
  • Haitian police have stated that other high-profile suspects remain at large. This a former Supreme Court judge and the alleged leader of the plot Joseph Badio — a former employee of the Ministry of Justice and the Haitian government's anti-corruption unit.6

Sources: 1NPR Online News, 2Guardian, 3Al Jazeera, 4Wlrn, 5Kclu and 6Politico.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by MSNBC. Haiti's current chaos is partly the product of consistent US intervention and meddling. Yet despite this, the US government sees it as still too risky to intervene with military force and also discriminates against Haitian migrants. While the US should not be held directly responsible for not reconstructing an entire foreign economy and society, it bears a good deal of responsibility for supporting its Caribbean neighbor and should be more hands-on.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Liberation news. Haiti does not need foreign intervention, particularly from the US. Such ongoing whispers are part of a long line of attempts to smother the popular aspirations of the Haitian people. Real change must occur through empowering the will of the people — Haitians are frustrated by a long history of colonial and neocolonial exploitation.

Predictions