Colombia investigates trips to several countries by Haitian security chief

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Colombian authorities assisting in investigating the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse confirmed Monday (11) that the Haitian head of security at the presidential palace in Port-au-Prince, Dimitri Hérard, made several trips this year to Colombia and other Latin American countries, whose purposes are unknown.

“We knew from the Interpol work team in Colombia that commissioner Dimitri Hérard, head of the general security unit of the National Palace of Haiti, had made trips to Ecuador, Panama, and the Dominican Republic using Colombia as a transit point,” said at a press conference the director of the Colombian Police, General Jorge Luis Vargas.

The officer added that they are trying to find out “what activities commissioner Hérard was carrying out on these trips to Colombia,” where 21 retired military, allegedly involved in the assassination, come from. For that reason, they asked “the countries where this person has been to answer this question.”

President Moïse was assassinated last Wednesday in an assault on his residence located in the Pelerin neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, also wounding the first lady, Martine Moïse, who is receiving medical care in the United States.

CONTACTS IN ECUADOR

According to General Vargas, all Hérard’s trips took place this year, the first of them on January 19 from the Dominican Republic to Bogotá. He traveled to Ecuador the following day.

On February 1 he made the return trip following the same route. Between May 22 and 29, he made the same trips again between the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, always with stopovers in Bogotá, said the officer when explaining some of these movements.

General Vargas made it clear that the investigation is in the hands of the Haitian authorities and that Colombia’s work is one of accompaniment and collaboration.

“The investigation for the homicide of the Haitian president is in the hands of the Haitian judicial authorities. Colombia is cooperating in what they require; the Haitian judicial apparatus is independent and autonomous”, assured the officer at the press conference. The Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, was also present.

The Police Director also revealed that there are not two but three Colombian ex-military personnel dead and 18 captured after the assassination. “Through coordination with the Interpol office in Haiti, we have identified 21 Colombians, three of them dead and 18 captured for a total of 21,” he said.

COMPANY IN MIAMI

The investigation has also extended to the company CTU Security, based in Miami (USA) since 19 airline tickets that retired Colombian soldiers used to travel to the Dominican Republic were purchased with a company credit card.

According to CTU Security’s web page, the company is dedicated to the sale of security equipment. It offers protection services for individuals and organizations from companies to schools, private investigation, and dog training.

“We have managed to establish communication links here in Colombia between Mr. Germán Rivera García and Mr. Duberney Capador with the company CTU Security based in Miami,” he explained.

Germán Rivera García is a retired Colombian army captain and is among those arrested by the Haitian Police. Duberney Capador left the forcee with the rank of first sergeant and is one of the three killed in Haiti.