Thursday, 19th September 2024

Jovenel Moïse murder: Prime suspect captured from Jamaica

A former Haitian senator has been arrested in Jamaica as the main suspect in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

Sunday, 16th January 2022

Haitian President Jovenel Moise

A former Haitian senator has been arrested in Jamaica as the main suspect in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. Dennis Brooks, a spokesman for the Jamaica Constabulary Force, said John Joel Joseph was arrested on Friday.  As per reports, Joseph supplied guns and organised meetings in order to plan the murder.

President Moise was killed by assailants who entered his home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, late at night on July 7.

As per reports, Joseph supplied guns and organised meetings, according to then-National Police Chief Leon Charles.

Dennis Brooks, a spokesman for the Jamaica Constabulary Force, refused to disclose whether the arrest was made in response to a request from the FBI in the United States, which is also looking into the murder.

According to a 124-page Haitian police investigation report, Joseph "was important in his strong intention to kill the President".

Mario Antonio Palacios, a former Colombian military officer, was charged with being a part of the conspiracy in the United States earlier this month. While other arrests have been made in Haiti in connection with the murder, Mr Palacios was the first to be charged.

Previous detainees included former Colombian military personnel, many of whom declared they were hired to provide "security assistance" in Haiti and were clueless of a plot to murder the president. The inquiry into the death of President Jovenel Moise, who was 53 years old, has been deferred, and it has been hindered even more by resignations of key officials. Investigators have also reported death threats and intimidation.

The surge in violence in Haiti and the country's dismal economic state, aggravated by multiple natural disasters in recent years, has resulted in an influx of Haitians finding work in other countries.