Haitian President Jovenel Moïse: Lead Suspect Arrested In Assassination
A key person of interest in the July 2021 assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse was arrested in Jamaica.
Mario Palacios Palacios, a former Colombian military officer, was arrested in Kingston in early October after surrendering, according to the Miami Herald. Until now, the arrest had remained secret, the report notes, citing multiple Haitian and Jamaica sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“The Jamaica Constabulary Force can confirm that an individual alleging to be a Colombian national has been arrested in Jamaica on immigration breaches,” a source in Jamaica told the outlet. “He has subsequently become the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice as of today, October 21, 2021. We are working with our international partners in line with our established treaties and protocols.”
It’s unclear what will happen to Palacios, who has not been charged with any crimes in the United States in connection to the execution that shook the Caribbean island in July.
The arrest comes on the heels of Haiti’s National Police Chief Léon Charles’s resignation amid increasing gang violence in the country. Interim Haiti Prime Minister Ariel Henry told the Herald that Charles plans to “go back to Washington to the Organization of American States.”
Charles had been Haiti’s liaison to the OAS and its chargé d’affaires in its Washington embassy. He was requested by the late president to return to the island to lead their police force nearly a decade after he was initially ousted. Frantz Elbé is slated to replace him.
