RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The men who shot dead Haitian President Jovenel Moise lied and identified themselves as agents of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), said the Haitian ambassador to Washington, Bocchit Edmond, on Wednesday.
State Department spokesman Ned Price denied any DEA involvement in the crime.
In a virtual press conference, Ambassador Edmond cited a video in the Haitian government’s possession showing how the men allegedly identified themselves as DEA agents. “We have a video, and we believe that (the perpetrators of the crime) are mercenaries,” said Edmond, who insisted that it was a “well-orchestrated attack” committed by “professionals.”
He explained that an investigation is currently underway to find out where the assassins are. However, he said they might have fled to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where Spanish is spoken, the same language allegedly used by the attackers.
According to the Haitian authorities’ version, the men, armed with rifles, allegedly spoke English and Spanish.
“If they haven’t left the country already, there is only one way for them to get out, and that is across the borders because there is no plane,” Edmond said.
The U.S. State Department denied any role of the DEA in Moise’s murder. “These reports are absolutely false,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told a press conference.
Un grupo de individuos irrumpió anoche en la residencia privada del mandatario acabando con su vida, confirmó el Gobiernohttps://t.co/WM7X1WjrPq pic.twitter.com/eqHjmGttj7
— RT en Español (@ActualidadRT) July 7, 2021
Price insisted that the U.S. condemns this “heinous murder” and indicated that the Haitian ambassador to the United States, Bocchit Edmond, had already dismissed “these allegations”.
The attack against the Haitian president took place in the early hours of the morning in Pelerin, an exclusive area of mansions located on a hill in the highest part of Port-au-Prince and which is always heavily guarded by the security forces of the Presidency.
The incident seriously injured the first lady, Martine Moise, who was flown by ambulance plain to Miami (USA) for treatment.