Former Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph affirmed this Saturday that the former Colombian military officer Mario Antonio Palacios, allegedly implicated in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise and detained in Jamaica, will be deported to his country next Monday.
Joseph wrote on his Twitter account that the Haitian Government has not provided "sufficient evidence" to establish the participation of the mercenary in the murder of Moise, perpetrated on July 7 of last year in his private home in Port-au-Prince by a command that met with no resistance.
"It is a serious blow to the investigation. Unfortunately, the current team (Haitian Government) has not carried out any follow-up, although the Colombian authorities have assured me of their cooperation. There is no political will to advance the investigation of the murder of Jovenel Moise", Joseph stated, sacked in November as Haitian Foreign Minister. Colombian Palacios, an alleged member of the command accused of assassinating the Haitian president, was arrested in Jamaica last October. According to the investigations, the assassination of Moise was committed by a group of mercenaries who broke into the presidential residence in the early morning of July 7 without encountering resistance.
Joseph was Acting Prime Minister and Chancellor when the assassination occurred. Of the group that allegedly perpetrated the attack, 18 former Colombian soldiers and 2 Haitian-Americans were arrested, while another 3 Colombians died in shootings with the Police. The Haitian National Police published a search and arrest notice in July against Palacios, an alleged member of the command accused of assassinating President Jovenel Moise. According to investigation data, Palacios had entered Moise’s residence at the time of the assassination and fled. Investigations into the event appear to be at a standstill in Haiti.
The president’s wife, Martine Moise, was injured in the attack and underwent surgery in the United States. At Moise’s funeral he denounced that the country’s oligarchy is, supposedly, responsible for the crime.
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