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Haïti National Police confirmed that Mario Palacios Palacios, the key suspect in Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination, was arrested in Jamaica.
Palacios is a former Colombian military officer. He was arrested in Kingston, the Jamaican capital earlier this month after surrendering. The arrest had remained secret but was confirmed by multiple Haitian and Jamaica sources speaking to the Miami Herald.
Palacios has been the subject of INTERPOL Red Notice as of Oct. 21, 2021, as requests to law enforcement worldwide were issued to locate the fugitives wanted for prosecution.
U.S. officials have assisted Haiti regarding Moïse’s death but were also conducting an investigation of suspected security and financial support in South Florida in a plot to remove Haitian President Jovenel Moïse and replace him with a Haitian physician.
Palacios was identified by multiple sources. Authorities in Washington, D.C., and South Florida are discussing what to do with Palacios as he was never charged with any crime in the U.S. in connection with the Haitian president’s assassination.
Palacios’ arrest became public on the day Haiti National Police Chief Léon Charles submitted his resignation to Interim Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Charles will go back to the Organization of American States in Washington, where he used to represent Haiti before Moïse asked him to return to Haiti to head the police force. Frantz Elbé will replace Charles.
Some 40 suspects were arrested in connection with the assassination including several Haitian police officers and 18 former Colombian soldiers, but the Colombian authorities stated that most of them were unaware of the exact nature of the operation.
Charles’ resignation happened during a spike in kidnappings and violence by criminal armed gangs, including the abduction of 16 Americans and a Canadian missionary on Saturday on the eastern outskirts of Port-au-Prince.
Written by Janet Grace Ortigas
Edited by Cathy Milne-Ware
Sources:
Miami Herald: Key suspect arrested in Haitian president’s assassination. Nation’s police chief resigns; by Jacqueline Charles
Yahoo! News: Jamaica arrests Colombian as suspect in Haiti assassination; by Danica Coto
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of OEA – OAS’ Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image by Logan Abassi Courtesy of United Nations Photo’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License