Haitian Police Arrest Six Suspects Of President Moise's Assassination, Including US Citizens

Haitian President Jovenel Moise. (Instagram/@jovenelmoise))

JAKARTA - Haitian authorities announced that the country's police have arrested six suspects in the assassination group of President Jovenel Moise, after previously shooting dead four people from the group.

Police Chief Leon Charles said in a televised briefing on Thursday that authorities had tracked the suspected killer to a house near the crime scene in Petionville, a hillside northern suburb of the capital Port-au-Prince.

Fierce gun battles lasted late into the night on Wednesday and six suspects were taken into custody, while four bodies were retrieved, authorities said, adding that tight patrols were in place in the area.

"We 'own' the perpetrators, now we are looking for the intellectual actors (of this incident)," Charles said.

Two Haitian Americans were among those detained, Haiti's Secretary of Elections and Party Relations, Mathias Pierre, told Reuters. He identified one of them as James Solages, an American citizen of Haitian descent, but did not name the others.

The US State Department says it is in regular contact with Haitian officials, including investigative authorities, to discuss how the United States can provide assistance.

Meanwhile, a State Department spokesman said it could not confirm whether a US citizen was among those detained.

Not only the security forces, Haitians who gathered on Thursday morning to watch the police operation take place, vented their anger on the suspects by setting fire to a car attacking the house where President Jovenel Moise's assassination group was hiding.

"Burn them!" shouted some of the hundreds of people gathered outside the police station where the suspects were being held.

Charles said local residents had been helping police track down the suspects but pleaded with residents not to take vigilante action.

Although a 15-day state of emergency was declared for authorities to hunt down the perpetrators on Wednesday. However, interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said on Thursday it was time for the economy to reopen. He has also given instructions to the airport to restart operations.

So far, authorities have not announced a motive for the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. Since taking office in 2017, Moise has faced mass protests against his rule. First for allegations of corruption and his management of the economy, then for his increasing grip on power.

For information, President Jovenel Moise was killed in a brutal shooting at his residence in the early hours of Wednesday. Meanwhile, Martine Moise, wife of the late President Moise who was also shot, is now in serious treatment and may be sent to Miami, United States for further medical treatment.