The United States authorities report that four key suspects in it assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse They have been transferred to the US to face charges.
One of the main suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse agreed Wednesday to remain in custody in Miami while he faces charges that he participated in the assassination that occurred in July 2021.
Haitian-American James Solages, 37, made his decision public in a hearing held in federal courts in South Florida a week after appearing for the first time before a US court after being transferred to this country.
“The parties have reached an agreement,” said prosecutor Andrea Goldbarg in a brief hearing before Judge Lisette M. Reid, announcing that the government and the defense had agreed to keep Solages in prison.
“That’s correct,” Solages’ lawyer, Jonathan S. Friedman, immediately stated before the magistrate issued an arrest warrant that may be reviewed in the future if the suspect’s defense deems it necessary.
Solages has been detained in a federal prison in downtown Miami since Tuesday, January 31, when he arrived with three other suspects of having plotted and participated in the assassination of the Haitian president. The other three—former Colombian soldier Germán Rivera García and Haitian-Americans Joseph Vincent and Christian Emmanuel Sanon—had already agreed to be detained at their first court appearance.
Standing with his lawyer at a podium in front of the judge, Solages looked calm, his wrists shackled and his ankles shackled. He was wearing a beige convict outfit and did not comment.
Wednesday’s was a bail hearing in which the defense could have asked for his provisional release. It is common for some detainees to do so to avoid spending long periods of time in prison while their cases are heard in court. However, in cases where the charges are serious, some lawyers choose not to ask for bail.
Along with Vincent, 57, and Rivera Garcia, 44, Solages is charged with conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping in another country, and providing material aid and resources that resulted in death. The three were among the first arrested after Moise was shot 12 times at his private home in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital, on July 7, 2021.
In total, seven suspects remain in custody in South Florida for their alleged participation in the assassination of the Haitian leader. The other three are Mario Palacios, who along with Rivera Garcia is one of about 20 former Colombian police officers facing charges, Haitian businessman Rodolphe Jaar, who served as an informant for the US government, and Haitian Senator John Joël Joseph.
According to court documents, two months before Moïse was killed, Vincent texted Solages a video of a cat “reacting alert” to the sound of gunshots. Solages laughed, prompting Vincent to reply: “That’s how Jovenel will be, but (before) if you guys really do it.” Solages then responded that “(this) cat will never come back” and “believe me bro, we are definitely working on our final decision,” the documents state.
Later, in June, some 20 former Colombian soldiers were recruited to allegedly help arrest the president and protect Sanon, who had aspirations to become Haiti’s new leader. Rivera García was the leader of the group, according to the documents presented by the prosecution.
Authorities said the plan was to detain Moïse and fly him to an unidentified location, but it failed because the suspects could not find a plane or enough weapons.
A day before the assassination, Solages lied to other suspects that he was a CIA operative and that the mission was to kill the president, according to the documents. shortly before of the assassination, authorities said, Solages yelled that it was allegedly a DEA operation to ensure compliance by the president’s security team.
Source: VOA Español
