A heavily armed commando unit that assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise was composed of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, authorities said on Thursday, as the hunt went on for the masterminds of the killing. 
 
Moise, 53, was fatally shot early on Wednesday at his home by what officials said was a group of foreign, trained killers, pitching the poorest country in the Americas deeper into turmoil amid political divisions, hunger and widespread gang violence. 
 
Authorities tracked the suspected assassins on Wednesday to a house near the scene of the crime in Petionville, a northern, hillside suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince. A firefight lasted late into the night and authorities detained a number of suspects on Thursday. 
 
Police Chief Charles Leon paraded 17 men before journalists at a news conference late on Thursday, showing a number of Colombian passports, plus assault rifles, machetes, walkie-talkies and materials including bolt cutters and hammers.

Watch:

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/haiti-police-chief-4-suspected-killers-of-president-moise-slain-2-arrested-396698/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

"Foreigners came to our country to kill the president," Charles said. "There were … 26 Colombians, identified by their passports … and two Haitian Americans as well.” 
 
He said 15 Colombians were captured, as well as two Haitian Americans. Three of the assailants were killed and eight remained on the run, Charles said. 
 
Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said in a statement that preliminary information indicated that Colombians involved in the attack were retired members of the country`s military. He said Bogota would cooperate in the investigation. 
 
Haiti`s minister of elections and interparty relations, Mathias Pierre, identified the Haitian-American suspects as James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55. 
 
A State Department spokesman could not confirm if any U.S. citizens were among those detained, but U.S. authorities were in regular contact with Haitian officials, including investigative authorities, to discuss how the United States could provide assistance. 
 
Officials in the mostly French- and Creole-speaking Caribbean nation had said on Wednesday the assassins appeared to have spoken in English and Spanish. 
 
"It was a full, well-equipped commando, with more than six cars and a lot of equipment," Pierre said. 
 
Officials have not yet given a motive for the killing. Since taking office in 2017, Moise had faced mass protests against his rule - first over corruption allegations and his management of the economy, then over his increasing grip on power. 
 
An angry crowd gathered on Thursday morning to watch the police operation unfold, with some setting fire to the suspects` cars and to the house where they had hunkered down. Bullets were strewn in the street. 
 
"Burn them!" shouted some of the hundreds of people outside the police station where the suspects were being held. 
 
Charles said the local population had helped police track down the suspects, but he implored residents in the sprawling seafront city of 1 million people not to take justice into their own hands. 
 
A 15-day state of emergency was declared on Wednesday to help authorities apprehend the killers. But interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said on Thursday it was time for the economy to reopen and that he had given instructions for the airport to restart operations. 
 
VACUUM OF POWER 
 
Moise`s death has generated confusion about who is the legitimate leader of the country of 11 million people, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. 
 
Haiti has struggled to achieve stability since the fall of the Duvalier family dictatorship in 1986, grappling with a series of coups and foreign interventions. 
 
A U.N. peacekeeping mission - meant to restore order after a rebellion toppled then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004 - ended in 2019 with the country still in disarray. 
 
"I can picture a scenario under which there are issues regarding to whom the armed forces and national police are loyal, in the case there are rival claims to being placeholder president of the country," said Ryan Berg, an analyst with the Center for Strategic &amp; International Studies. 
 
Haiti`s 1987 constitution stipulates the head of the Supreme Court should take over. But amendments that are not unanimously recognized state that it be the prime minister, or, in the last year of a president`s mandate - the case with Moise - that parliament should elect a president. 
 
The head of the Supreme Court died last month due to COVID-19 amid a surge in infections in one of the few countries yet to start a vaccination campaign. 
 
There is no sitting parliament as legislative elections scheduled for late 2019 were postponed amid political unrest. 
 
Moise just this week appointed a new prime minister, Ariel Henry, to take over from Joseph, although he had yet to be sworn in when the president was killed. 
 
Joseph appeared on Wednesday to take charge of the situation, running the government response to the assassination, appealing to Washington for support and declaring a state of emergency. 
 
Henry - considered more favorably by the opposition - told Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste that he did not consider Joseph the legitimate prime minister and he should revert to the role of foreign minister. 
 
"I think we need to speak. Claude was supposed to stay in the government I was going to have," Henry was quoted as saying. 
 
The United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti said on Thursday Joseph would remain leader until an election was held, urging all parties to set aside their differences. 
 
Moise, backed by the international community, had been pushing to hold both elections and a constitutional referendum in September, efforts that were vehemently opposed by Haitian civil society, which had called first for a transitional government to guide the country to a vote. 
 
Pierre told Reuters the Cabinet intended to guide the country to elections in two months` time as planned. 
 
"There are many unknowns about what happens next," said Jake Johnston, a senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. "But it is important to remember that that was also the case before the assassination of Moise."

A heavily armed commando unit that assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise was composed of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, authorities said on Thursday, as the hunt went on for the masterminds of the killing.

A heavily armed commando unit that assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moise was composed of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans, authorities said on Thursday, as the hunt went on for the masterminds of the killing. Moise, 53, was fatally shot early on Wednesday at his home by what officials said was a group of foreign, trained killers, pitching the poorest country in the Americas deeper into turmoil amid political divisions, hunger and widespread gang violence. Authorities tracked the suspected assassins on Wednesday to a house near the scene of the crime in Petionville, a northern, hillside suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince. A firefight lasted late into the night and authorities detained a number of suspects on Thursday. Police Chief Charles Leon paraded 17 men before journalists at a news conference late on Thursday, showing a number of Colombian passports, plus assault rifles, machetes, walkie-talkies and materials including bolt cutters and hammers. Watch: "Foreigners came to our country to kill the president," Charles said. "There were … 26 Colombians, identified by their passports … and two Haitian Americans as well.” He said 15 Colombians were captured, as well as two Haitian Americans. Three of the assailants were killed and eight remained on the run, Charles said. Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said in a statement that preliminary information indicated that Colombians involved in the attack were retired members of the country`s military. He said Bogota would cooperate in the investigation. Haiti`s minister of elections and interparty relations, Mathias Pierre, identified the Haitian-American suspects as James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55. A State Department spokesman could not confirm if any U.S. citizens were among those detained, but U.S. authorities were in regular contact with Haitian officials, including investigative authorities, to discuss how the United States could provide assistance. Officials in the mostly French- and Creole-speaking Caribbean nation had said on Wednesday the assassins appeared to have spoken in English and Spanish. "It was a full, well-equipped commando, with more than six cars and a lot of equipment," Pierre said. Officials have not yet given a motive for the killing. Since taking office in 2017, Moise had faced mass protests against his rule - first over corruption allegations and his management of the economy, then over his increasing grip on power. An angry crowd gathered on Thursday morning to watch the police operation unfold, with some setting fire to the suspects` cars and to the house where they had hunkered down. Bullets were strewn in the street. "Burn them!" shouted some of the hundreds of people outside the police station where the suspects were being held. Charles said the local population had helped police track down the suspects, but he implored residents in the sprawling seafront city of 1 million people not to take justice into their own hands. A 15-day state of emergency was declared on Wednesday to help authorities apprehend the killers. But interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said on Thursday it was time for the economy to reopen and that he had given instructions for the airport to restart operations. VACUUM OF POWER Moise`s death has generated confusion about who is the legitimate leader of the country of 11 million people, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic. Haiti has struggled to achieve stability since the fall of the Duvalier family dictatorship in 1986, grappling with a series of coups and foreign interventions. A U.N. peacekeeping mission - meant to restore order after a rebellion toppled then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 2004 - ended in 2019 with the country still in disarray. "I can picture a scenario under which there are issues regarding to whom the armed forces and national police are loyal, in the case there are rival claims to being placeholder president of the country," said Ryan Berg, an analyst with the Center for Strategic & International Studies. Haiti`s 1987 constitution stipulates the head of the Supreme Court should take over. But amendments that are not unanimously recognized state that it be the prime minister, or, in the last year of a president`s mandate - the case with Moise - that parliament should elect a president. The head of the Supreme Court died last month due to COVID-19 amid a surge in infections in one of the few countries yet to start a vaccination campaign. There is no sitting parliament as legislative elections scheduled for late 2019 were postponed amid political unrest. Moise just this week appointed a new prime minister, Ariel Henry, to take over from Joseph, although he had yet to be sworn in when the president was killed. Joseph appeared on Wednesday to take charge of the situation, running the government response to the assassination, appealing to Washington for support and declaring a state of emergency. Henry - considered more favorably by the opposition - told Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste that he did not consider Joseph the legitimate prime minister and he should revert to the role of foreign minister. "I think we need to speak. Claude was supposed to stay in the government I was going to have," Henry was quoted as saying. The United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti said on Thursday Joseph would remain leader until an election was held, urging all parties to set aside their differences. Moise, backed by the international community, had been pushing to hold both elections and a constitutional referendum in September, efforts that were vehemently opposed by Haitian civil society, which had called first for a transitional government to guide the country to a vote. Pierre told Reuters the Cabinet intended to guide the country to elections in two months` time as planned. "There are many unknowns about what happens next," said Jake Johnston, a senior research associate at the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington. "But it is important to remember that that was also the case before the assassination of Moise."

Haiti says 26 Colombians, two Haitian Americans among group that killed president

Haiti police executed four "mercenaries" they alleged were behind President Jovenel Moise's assassination on Wednesday and jailed two others.&nbsp;

"Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control. Three policemen who had been taken hostage have been recovered," the director general of Haiti's national police Leon Charles said in a televised statement.

He said police pursued the assassins immediately after the attack on Moise and his wife, who survived, at their home in Port-au-Prince early Wednesday.

WATCH:&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/president-of-haiti-assassinated-in-private-residence-interim-pm-396588/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe> 
&nbsp;
In what investigators described as a well-planned operation involving "foreigners" who knew Spanish, a group of unknown assailants entered Moise's home early Wednesday, shooting him and wounding his wife, Martine Moise.

Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced a national "state of siege" and said he was now in charge of the country as the UN Security Council scrambled to convene an emergency meeting for Thursday.

In the capital Port-au-Prince, the airport was closed, but observers reported the city was peaceful, with streets abandoned and no additional security troops on patrol.&nbsp;

Jovenel Moise was the 58th President of Haiti who had taken the office in February 2017 after being declared the winner of the November 2016 election.

This was not the first time Moise was attacked. In February 2021, Moise claimed that an attempt to take his life was blocked by the local police.&nbsp;

"I thank my head of security at the palace. The goal of these people was to make an attempt on my life. That plan was aborted, " local media had quoted him as saying at the time.

(With inputs from agencies)
</div>

Haiti police executed four "mercenaries" they alleged were behind President Jovenel Moise's assassination on Wednesday and jailed two others. "Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control.

Haiti police executed four "mercenaries" they alleged were behind President Jovenel Moise's assassination on Wednesday and jailed two others. "Four mercenaries were killed, two were intercepted under our control. Three policemen who had been taken hostage have been recovered," the director general of Haiti's national police Leon Charles said in a televised statement. He said police pursued the assassins immediately after the attack on Moise and his wife, who survived, at their home in Port-au-Prince early Wednesday. WATCH: In what investigators described as a well-planned operation involving "foreigners" who knew Spanish, a group of unknown assailants entered Moise's home early Wednesday, shooting him and wounding his wife, Martine Moise. Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announced a national "state of siege" and said he was now in charge of the country as the UN Security Council scrambled to convene an emergency meeting for Thursday. In the capital Port-au-Prince, the airport was closed, but observers reported the city was peaceful, with streets abandoned and no additional security troops on patrol. Jovenel Moise was the 58th President of Haiti who had taken the office in February 2017 after being declared the winner of the November 2016 election. This was not the first time Moise was attacked. In February 2021, Moise claimed that an attempt to take his life was blocked by the local police. "I thank my head of security at the palace. The goal of these people was to make an attempt on my life. That plan was aborted, " local media had quoted him as saying at the time. (With inputs from agencies)

Haiti president assassination: Four 'mercenaries' killed, two arrested by police

In a shocking announcement, Haiti's interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph reported that President&nbsp;Jovenel Moise has been assassinated.

"A group of individuals who have not been identified, some of whom were speaking Spanish and English, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and fatally injured the Head of State," Joseph said in a statement.

Also read |&nbsp;<a data-ctorig="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659" data-cturl="https://www.google.com/url?client=internal-element-cse&amp;cx=006054055338965708568:09spwrlibei&amp;q=https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659&amp;sa=U&amp;ved=2ahUKEwinuMmk8dDxAhUS4nMBHRuxBe0QFnoECAEQAg&amp;usg=AOvVaw1PGrzS3UdivwYu_u6AYbLm" dir="ltr" href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tropical-storm-elsa-churns-past-haiti-headed-for-cuba-395659" target="_blank">Tropical storm Elsa churns past&nbsp;Haiti, headed for Cuba</a>

The First Lady,&nbsp;Martine Moïse, was also shot along with the deceased President, but she has survived the attack and is currently under strict security and medical observation.

As per initial reports, Moise family was&nbsp;attacked in his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince.

Claude has urged the country to stay calm and has assured that "all measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the State and to protect the Nation. Democracy and the Republic will win out."

As of now,&nbsp;Claude Joseph has taken control of the Caribbean country.

Jovenel Moise was the&nbsp;58th President of Haiti who had taken the office in February 2017 after being declared the winner of the November 2016 election.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/president-of-haiti-assassinated-in-private-residence-interim-pm-396588">WATCH |</a>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/president-of-haiti-assassinated-in-private-residence-interim-pm-396588/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

This was not the first time Moise was attacked. In February 2021, Moise had claimed that an attempt to take his life was blocked by the local police. "I thank my head of security at the palace. The goal of these people was to make an attempt on my life. That plan was aborted," local media had quoted him.

His assassination has come at a time when the country has been battling an alarming increase of armed gangs in the country.

Condolences for 'shocking' incident

The US has offered condolences after the leader's assassination and has assured that the Joe Biden-led government "will be helpful in any way to the people of Haiti, to the government of Haiti,"&nbsp;White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

Joe Biden, the US President, was also informed about the incident. "We are shocked and saddened to hear of the horrific assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the attack on First Lady Martine Moise," he said in a statement later. "We condemn this heinous act and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moise's recovery."

Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, also offered his prayers for the Moise family after the 'abhorrent act' that killed the President. "I am shocked and saddened at the death of President Moïse. Our condolences are with his family and the people of Haiti. This is an abhorrent act and I call for calm at this time," Johnson tweeted.

Calling it a&nbsp;"cowardly assassination", France paid tribute to the leader and urged&nbsp;restraint and calm in the country.&nbsp;"All light must be shed on this crime, which takes place in a political and security climate that has severely worsened," said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. "I urge all those in Haitian politics to act with calm and restraint."

In a shocking announcement, Haiti's interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph reported that President Jovenel Moise has been assassinated. "A group of individuals who have not been identified, some of whom were speaking Spanish and English, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and fatally injured the Head of State," Joseph said in a statement.

In a shocking announcement, Haiti's interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph reported that President Jovenel Moise has been assassinated. "A group of individuals who have not been identified, some of whom were speaking Spanish and English, attacked the private residence of the President of the Republic and fatally injured the Head of State," Joseph said in a statement. Also read | Tropical storm Elsa churns past Haiti, headed for Cuba The First Lady, Martine Moïse, was also shot along with the deceased President, but she has survived the attack and is currently under strict security and medical observation. As per initial reports, Moise family was attacked in his home in the hills above Port-au-Prince. Claude has urged the country to stay calm and has assured that "all measures have been taken to ensure the continuity of the State and to protect the Nation. Democracy and the Republic will win out." As of now, Claude Joseph has taken control of the Caribbean country. Jovenel Moise was the 58th President of Haiti who had taken the office in February 2017 after being declared the winner of the November 2016 election. WATCH | This was not the first time Moise was attacked. In February 2021, Moise had claimed that an attempt to take his life was blocked by the local police. "I thank my head of security at the palace. The goal of these people was to make an attempt on my life. That plan was aborted," local media had quoted him. His assassination has come at a time when the country has been battling an alarming increase of armed gangs in the country. Condolences for 'shocking' incident The US has offered condolences after the leader's assassination and has assured that the Joe Biden-led government "will be helpful in any way to the people of Haiti, to the government of Haiti," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said. Joe Biden, the US President, was also informed about the incident. "We are shocked and saddened to hear of the horrific assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the attack on First Lady Martine Moise," he said in a statement later. "We condemn this heinous act and I am sending my sincere wishes for First Lady Moise's recovery." Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, also offered his prayers for the Moise family after the 'abhorrent act' that killed the President. "I am shocked and saddened at the death of President Moïse. Our condolences are with his family and the people of Haiti. This is an abhorrent act and I call for calm at this time," Johnson tweeted. Calling it a "cowardly assassination", France paid tribute to the leader and urged restraint and calm in the country. "All light must be shed on this crime, which takes place in a political and security climate that has severely worsened," said Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. "I urge all those in Haitian politics to act with calm and restraint."

Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated, wife injured; World leaders pay tribute

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Haiti says 26 Colombians, two Haitian Americans among group that killed president

Haiti president assassination: Four 'mercenaries' killed, two arrested by police

Haiti President Jovenel Moise assassinated, wife injured; World leaders pay tribute