New Moïse assassination arrests
Feb. 15, 2023
The U.S. arrested four new suspects in the 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, including two U.S. citizens, the Venezuelan-American owner of a Miami-based security company and his Colombian business partner, a former U.S. intelligence informant.
The arrests mark “a turning point in a probe that is now focused on the weapons, ballistic vests and financing that authorities say fueled the deadly plot,” reports the Miami Herald. Nonetheless, “it’s still unclear who was the ultimate mastermind of the assassination plot targeting Moïse.”
Federal court documents stated that several “conspirators” in the Moïse assassination met with the F.B.I. a few months before the July 2021 killing. The purported exchange, in which the conspirators allegedly sought to discuss regime change and were rebuffed, “raised troubling questions about how much the United States government knew in advance of the killing,” reports the the New York Times.
A total of 11 suspects are now in US custody. At least three other suspects in the case were former informants for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
The initial plan, according to U.S. prosecutors, was to oust Moïse and replace him with a Haitian American pastor named Christian Emmanuel Sanon — who was detained last month. (See Feb. 1’s post.) The conspirators planned to obtain financial gains through lucrative government contracts under a new administration, and hired a group of Colombian mercenaries to carry out the plot.
However the conspiracy evolved when organizers realized that Sanon lacked the constitutional qualifications to become president. They initially backed a former Haitian Supreme Court judge to replace Moïse. Later, failing to obtain a plane to remove the president from the country, they decided to assassinate him instead, reports the Washington Post.
Earlier this month, the president’s widow, Martine Moïse, who was shot during the attack but survived, called for the creation of a special UN tribunal to investigate the assassination, saying the case had been blocked for 19 months. (Associated Press)
Haitian government’s parallel probe is currently on its fifth investigative judge, four others were dismissed or resigned for personal reasons. No court hearings have been held yet for the more than 40 suspects arrested in Haiti, many of whom are being held in deplorable conditions.
Colombia
Colombian President Gustavo Petro presented a controversial health reform to lawmakers on Monday. The administration said the proposal would improve primary care, expand access to treatment, raise healthcare worker salaries and fight corruption by eliminating private sector management of payments, reports Reuters.
The bill does not eliminate private sector healthcare providers, or EPS, as initially planned, though their role would be modified. The proposal would also create thousands of primary care centers in Colombia — public, private and mixed, reports El País.
Nicaragua
“It is estimated that at least 39 political prisoners remain in Nicaragua, a human rights crisis and major diplomatic thorn in the Ortega-Murillo regime’s heel,” according to El Faro.
Mexico
Mexican authorities said they arrested a suspected top cartel member accused of leading the region's production of fentanyl, reports Reuters.
Brazil
Prices for clandestine flights out of Brazil’s Indigenous Yanomami territory have skyrocketed, as security forces clamp down on illegal mining in the region. The government’s operation involves various public agencies charged with driving out the poachers, stifling the lucrative business and addressing the health crisis caused by their presence among the Yanomami, reports El País.
Dozens of police officers and over 100 alleged drug traffickers have been arrested over six years in northeast Brazil. The situation illustrates the increasingly complex collusion between security forces and criminals across the country, reports InSight Crime.
Former President Jair Bolsonaro plans to return to Brazil and lead the political opposition, he told the Wall Street Journal in his first interview since leaving office and traveling to Florida.
Regional Relations
Argentine libertarian lawmaker Javier Milei said he will reach out to Bolsonaro to form a joint “anti-left” strategy as a counter to the Grupo Puebla, which he compared to the Soviet Union. (Infobae)