JAKARTA - The President of the United States (US) has ruled out sending US troops to Haiti, to help stabilize the Caribbean nation after the assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
However, Haiti's Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph had previously asked troops from the United States and the United Nations to help secure the airport and other infrastructure.
President Biden said the United States sent Marines to guard the US Embassy in the capital, Port-Au-Prince, to ensure the safety of the embassy and US citizens inside.
"But the idea of sending American troops to Haiti is not on the agenda right now," President Biden told reporters at a press conference at the White House.
Plans for a US troop presence in Haiti have received a cold response from civil society groups and former Haitian military figures. Meanwhile, the US is also assisting the investigation into the assassination of President Moise, with a large number of former Colombian soldiers being suspects.
Separately, Colombian President Ivan Duque said Thursday that many of the former Colombian soldiers accused of involvement in President Moise's assassination went to Haiti to work as bodyguards, but others knew crimes were being planned.
Haitian authorities say President Moise was shot dead at his home on July 7 by a group of killers, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Eighteen Colombians have been detained and three others killed by police.
"There is a large group brought in for a protection mission, but within that group, there is a smaller group, namely those who seem to have detailed knowledge of what would be a criminal operation," Colombian President Ivan Duque told La FM radio.
"Does that forgive the rest of the group? Unfortunately not, because they also participated in the situation," added President Duque.
Separately, Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ken Hoffman said the same day, a "small number" of detainees had received US military training in the past while serving as active members of the Colombian military, without providing further details.
Meanwhile, a senior US government official said charges against those who killed President Moise could be filed in the land of Uncle Sam. With Colombia being one of the strongest US military partners in Latin America, receiving billions of dollars in security assistance and training focused on fighting Marxist guerrilla groups funded by drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping.
To be aware, The New York Times reported on Thursday that the head of presidential security, Dimitri Herard, was detained and is undergoing investigation into why the assailants did not meet any resistance at President Moise's residence.
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