Top Haitian Security Official Arrested Amid President Assassination Investigations

(Photo : Photo by Valerie Baeriswyl / AFP / Photo by VALERIE BAERISWYL/AFP via Getty Images)
A priest prays during the funeral for slain Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, on July 23, 2021, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, the main city in his native northern region. - Moïse, 53, was shot dead in his home in the early hours of July 7.

After Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated earlier this month, the government has arrested a top official who served as the nation's general security coordinator amid investigations, the official's attorney said on Monday.

The official, Jean Laguel Civil, is among two dozen suspects arrested by the Haitian government as it continues looking into the assassination of Moise inside his private home on July 7. Reynold Georges, Civil's attorney, said the arrest of his client was politically motivated and not founded on evidence.

Assassination Plot

The arrest came amid a commemoration of Moise where more than 1,000 demonstrators gathered together. The people in the crowd wore mainly white while cheering on Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer who is now the leader of a gang called "G9." The group is a federation of nine gangs that are being blamed for the surge of violence and kidnappings in the country in recent months.

Cherizier, who is also known as "Barbecue" in the gang, said his underlings had to wait for his order before responding to the assassination of the president. Police said that the gang leader was responsible for the recent string of massacres that targeted civilians who live in areas where other gangs made their territories, Yahoo News reported.

The gang leader was seen in a white suit with a black tie while making a speech to a large crowd at the seaside slum of La Saline in the capital of Port-au-Prince. A large portrait of Moise was in the area where Cherizier knelt as music was played by a nearby truck. He lit candles in memory of the late president while saying that there would be no peace until justice was served.

The incident also comes after last week where three police officers were arrested in connection to the assassination. Officials said it was possible that there was an infiltration of their force that planned out the murder.

Authorities identified the three suspects as Boni Gregoire, Clifton Hyppolite, and Elie Jean Charles but did not provide the details of their involvement with the crime. The primary question that officials want to find out is how the perpetrators breached the president's security detail so easily. Many members of the public have become impatient, arguing the secrecy of the investigation, the New York Times reported.

Multiple Arrests

On Tuesday, Haiti was poised to replace its prime minister, Claude Joseph, and put Ariel Henry in charge. Henry is a neurosurgeon who was appointed by the president shortly before he was assassinated.

Two days after the president's murder, two Americans were among those arrested in the initial actions against the assassination. There were also 15 detainees from Columbia that Haitian authorities took into custody.

Gen. Jorge Luis Vargas Valencia, the head of the Colombia national police, said President Ivan Duque ordered the cooperation between Colombia's army and police force. He said the country's best investigators were gathered to form a team to provide Port-au-Prince with information that could help with the case, including dates, flight times, and financial information of the suspects, NPR reported.