Haiti in 'state of siege' amid manhunt after assassination of President Jovenel Mo?se

WASHINGTON – Two Haitian American men and 15 Colombian nationals were among the group of more than two dozen so-called "mercenaries" involved in the brazen assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Mo?se, Haitian government officials said a press conference late Thursday.

Haiti's interim prime minister, Claude Joseph, decried the assassination as a "cowardly" act and allowed reporters to record and photograph the group of 17 suspects. Léon Charles, head of Haiti's National Police, said eight suspects were still on the run.

The uncertain security situation in Haiti was matched by an equally chaotic political standoff. Joseph on Wednesday declared a "state of siege" akin to martial law and said he was in charge of the country, even as his claim to power came into question.

Here's what we know about the assassination and its aftermath:

Who killed Mo?se and how?

Haitian police identified James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55, as the two American citizens involved in the overnight attack that also seriously wounded Haiti's First Lady, Martine Mo?se. Solages, who most recently lived in South Florida, identified himself on a charity website as a former bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince.

According to Le Nouvelliste, Haiti's largest newspaper, Haitian authorities said Solages had been in Haiti for at least the past month. Vincent, they said, had been living in the island nation for six months.

Videos late Thursday showed both men handcuffed, sitting on the floor next to four Colombian men in a large room where Haitian government officials allowed reporters to come in and photograph the suspects and the large cache of automatic weapons, sledgehammers, machetes, passports, cell phones and other items taken from the men. About six feet from the group of men were the other 13 alleged assailants, some bruised and bloodied.

Police said they killed seven more attackers in gunfights following the assassination. They believe the eight remaining suspects are still somewhere in the country.

The Department of Justice and FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the possible involvement of American citizens. State Department spokesman Ned Price said he could not confirm the arrest of a U.S. citizen, noting the probe is being led by Haitian authorities.

The presidential guard did not try to stop the assailants, former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe told USA TODAY in an interview from Miami on Thursday. He said the attackers fired 16 bullets into the president's body and his wife was shot three times. Haitian government officials said the president's killers shot him 12 times and mutilated him, removing his left eye, according to The Nouvelliste newspaper.

More: Haiti's future uncertain after brazen slaying of President Jovenel Mo?se

Many of the assailants are now trapped in the area near the president's residence in an affluent suburb in the hills north of Port-au-Prince, after police sealed off surrounding roads, Lamothe said.

"They blocked all the roads ... so they're trapped now," he said.

In a briefing with reporters Wednesday, Haiti's ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, said the assassins falsely claimed to be U.S. agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency.

He described them as "mercenaries" and said they were "well-trained professional killers." The ambassador also said a video of the attack shows they were speaking Spanish.

"The presidential family will have justice," Charles said late Thursday, vowing to track down the remaining suspects.

Lemothe said "very few people in Haiti have the means to carry this out," referring to the cost of such a bold operation. Mo?se had some "powerful enemies in the oligarchy," he said, but declined to speculate further on possible culprits.

Who is in charge now?

Joseph has assumed control of Haiti's government, including the national police and armed forces, declaring a 15-day "state of siege" in the aftermath of Wednesday's assassination.

“Everything is under control,” he told The Associated Press.

But Mo?se had named a new prime minister, Ariel Henry, just one day before his murder.

"I am a prime minister," Henry told the Nouvelliste newspaper on Wednesday. Henry said he did not want to fuel further confusion and praised Joseph's handling of the crisis, but said he would assert his claim to the prime minister position and include Joseph in his Cabinet.

Questions over whether Joseph or Henry is in charge further highlight the holes in Haiti’s presidential succession plan. René Sylvestre, Chief Justice of Haiti’s Supreme Court, should have been president in the event of Moise’s death. But Sylvestre died two weeks ago from complications of COVID-19. And the president had been ruling Haiti without a parliament since January 2020, after failing to hold legislative elections the previous fall.

“The next few days are critical for Haiti," Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement Wednesday evening. He called for calm and urged the Haitian government "to do everything it can to ensure a peaceful transition of power."

Haiti's international airport in Port-au-Prince remained closed Thursday.

The legitimacy of Mo?se's presidency had been in question for months. U.S. human rights advocates said his presidency should have ended in February. But the 53-year-old politician had refused to step down and, using an alternative reading of Haiti's Constitution, Mo?se argued he could stay in office for another year.

Rep. Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat and co-chair of the House Haiti Caucus, said Mo?se's murder is a "shocking example of the extent to which the security situation in Haiti has unraveled" and said the international community was at least partly responsible.

The U.S. and other countries have ignored Haiti's spiraling violence and pleas from its people for a democratic transition, Levin said. And Joseph’s claim now – that the Haitian national police and armed forces have the country’s security under control – is "absurd" given the current crisis, he added.

An election was scheduled for September, but political rival Reginald Boulos and others have said they believe the interim government should postpone it until November 2022.

Boulos, a former ally of the president, had become one of his harshest critics. In a phone interview with USA Today Thursday, Boulos said he will likely seek a presidential nomination through his party, MTVAyiti. But he said Mo?se's assassination has also made him "take two steps back" in his considerations.

"I want to be president of Haiti, but I'm not obsessed about the election," Boulos said.

What is the US response so far?

Edmond, Haiti's ambassador to the U.S., said he has asked the White House for assistance in the investigation, and he made a fresh plea for American help in strengthening Haiti's police force and its armed forces. Edmond, Boulos and others said training and equipment for the nation's police force would help them control violent street gangs that have besieged parts of the island nation.

An FBI spokesman declined to comment on Thursday when asked if the agency was assisting Haitian authorities in an investigation into Mo?se's assassination.

Price said the Haitian police had made an official request for investigatory assistance and "the U.S. is responding," but he could not provide additional details. He said American and Haitian officials have been in regular contact since the assassination.

More: Haiti President Jovenel Mo?se assassinated at home; Biden calls it 'very worrisome'

As for the political standoff, Price noted that Joseph was the incumbent prime minister when the assassination took place, "and we continue to work with Claude Joseph as such." But Price said State Department officials have also been in contact with Henry and other "officials and stakeholders" in Haiti.

"The situation on the ground is evolving rapidly," Price said. He reiterated the Biden administration's position that Haiti should proceed with "free and fair elections" scheduled for later this year.

"We know that free and fair elections are the democratic path towards ending Haiti’s irregular and prolonged rule by decree and restoring its parliament, which as of now has lapsed," he said. "Free and fair presidential elections will facilitate a peaceful transfer of power to a newly elected president as well."

Human rights groups said Mo?se's assassination should serve as a "wake-up call" for the U.S. and other world powers to refocus on Haiti's political and societal instability.

Gang violence has spiked in Port-au-Prince, and the country's economic woes have become acute amid inflation and food and fuel shortages. Haiti is still trying to recover from a devastating 2010 earthquake, among other problems.

“This is a wake-up call for the international community, and for the Haitian authorities who have overseen chronic impunity and ignored the calls of human rights defenders that has paved the way for such a serious crisis,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, the Americas Director for Amnesty International.

Levin implored the Biden administration to pursue a new policy toward Haiti that emphasized improving human rights, democracy and security.

Contributing: Daphne Duret and The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Haiti president killed: What we know about Jovenel Mo?se's murder