Haiti Update: US Won’t Sent Troops, President Security Detail Detained

It’s been over a week since Haiti President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated at his private residence and a nationwide manhunt for suspects is still underway. Haitian officials have also placed Moïse’s security chief in custody as the country works to find all who are responsible for the attack. 

At least 24 people have been arrested in connection with the assassination, including two Haitian Americans and several former members of the Colombian military. One man among those arrested, Christian Sanon, is alleged to have orchestrated the attack in an effort to seize political power. Authorities also believe that an insider helped carry out the shooting that left Moïse dead and his wife, First Lady Martine Moïse critically wounded. 

According to The New York Times, Dimitri Hérard, the head of palace security, made several stops in the Colombian capital city of Bogatá months before the assassination. The revelation led investigators to put Hérard and other members of palace security in custody on Thursday (July 15).

In the wake of Moïse’s assassination, fears of political instability led officials to call on the US for military support. Unrest following the attack on the country’s leader came amid a humanitarian crisis and rise in gang violence. 

President Joe Biden announced Thursday (July 15) no US troops would be sent to stabilize Haiti. Biden said marines would be deployed to boost security at the US embassy in Haiti, however. 

“We’re only sending American Marines to our embassy,” Biden said. “The idea of sending American forces to Haiti is not on the agenda,” he said. The call for troops comes as Biden fully recalled US military forces out of Afghanistan.

First Lady Martine Moïse posted a photo to Twitter for the first time following the killing of her husband. “Thank you for the team of guardian angels who helped me through this terrible time,” she wrote.

She was transported to a Florida hospital to receive treatment for the wounds she sustained during the home invasion. 

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