Assassination Of The President Of Haiti: The Assault Team's Mission To Capture, Not To Kill

President of Haiti Jovenel Moise. (Wikimedia Commons/Office of U.S. Ambassador to U.N.)

JAKARTA - Surprising testimony came from the perpetrators of the attack that killed Haitian President Jovenel Moise, on Wednesday morning last week who came from Colombia and Haitian Americans to investigators.

According to Reuters from the Miami Herald and a source familiar with the investigation on Sunday, July 11, the assailants said their aim was to arrest President Moise, not kill him as was the case.

President Moise was shot dead in his home, Port-au-Prince by what Haitian authorities said was a killing unit consisting of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans.

Citing people who have spoken to some of the 19 suspects detained so far, the Miami Herald said their assault mission was to capture President Moise and bring him to the presidential palace.

A source close to the investigation revealed that two Haitian Americans, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, told investigators they were translators for a Colombian commando unit that had an arrest warrant.

The late President of Haiti Jovenel Moise. (Instagram/@jovenelmoise)

However, when the two arrived at the scene of the attack, they found the President of Haiti dead. Haitian police did not return a request for comment on this statement.

The news follows reports some Colombians said they had gone to work as security personnel in Haiti, including for Moise herself.

The Miami Herald reported that the Colombians detained said they were hired to work in Haiti by Miami-based company CTU Security, which is run by Venezuelan immigrant Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera.

Neither CTU nor Intriago could be reached for comment.

A phone number associated with the company in public records sent a call to an answering machine referring to the fictional TV character Jack Bauer, who fought terrorism in the series '24'.

"Thanks for calling CTU security. For Tony Intriago, please leave a message or text. For Jack Bauer looking forward to next season. Thanks for calling and have a nice day," the answering machine-read.

Social media profiles that appear to belong to Intriago include a Facebook photo showing a man in tactical gear brandishing a firearm. Other photos on Instagram show ammunition, weapons, and people involved in tactical training.

Meanwhile, photos and X-ray images posted on social media over the weekend purported to be from Jovenel Moise's autopsy showed his body riddled with bullet holes, a fractured skull, and other broken bones, underscoring the brutal nature of the attack. Reuters could not independently confirm its authenticity.

Via social media, Haitians in parts of the capital Port-au-Prince are planning protests this week against the interim prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph.

Joseph's right to lead the country has been challenged by other senior politicians, threatening to exacerbate the chaos plaguing America's poorest nation.

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

Meanwhile, one of Haiti's leading gang leaders, Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as 'Barbecue' said on Saturday his men would take to the streets to protest the killing.

Cherizier, boss of the so-called G9 federation of nine gangs, said police and opposition politicians had conspired with the "rotten bourgeoisie" to "victimize" Moise.

Separately, a team of U.S. security and law enforcement experts is traveling to Haiti, to determine what help Washington can provide after the assassination of Haitian President last week, the Pentagon said on Sunday.

"Today, an interagency team, mostly from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, is heading to Haiti right now, to see what we can do to help with the investigation," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told Fox News Sunday.

"That's where our energy is best applied right now, in helping them investigate this incident and find out who is at fault. And the best way to hold them accountable," Kirby said in the interview.

At a later date, President Joe Biden will listen to the team's briefing on his return, before then making a decision on the way forward," a senior Biden administration official told Reuters separately.

It was not immediately clear how long the US team would remain in Haiti. Government officials said on Sunday Washington would also consult with its regional partners and the United Nations.

The United States has so far rejected requests for Haitian troops, while the United Nations would need Security Council authorization to send armed forces.

"We're analyzing it like any other request for help at the Pentagon. It's going through a review," Kirby said.