26 Colombians and 2 Americans are behind the assassination of Haiti

Authorities traced the suspected killers to a house in a suburb of the capital, Port-au-Prince, on Wednesday. After the shootout, 17 suspects, 15 Colombians and two Americans, were arrested. Police Chief Leon showed Colombian passports, rifles, machetes, walkie-talkies and items, including cutters and hammers, at a press conference on Thursday. “Aliens came into our country to kill the president,” Charles said. They were 26 Colombians identified by their passports and two Haitian Americans.

Colombian Defense Minister Diego Molano said in a statement that preliminary information indicated that the Colombians involved were retired members of the Colombian army. He said Bogota would cooperate with the investigation. The US State Department also said it was cooperating with the investigation, but could not confirm whether US citizens had been detained.

The situation in the city is tense. An angry crowd gathered Thursday morning around the house where the suspects were holed up and set cars parked on the street on fire.

The tension in the street is partly due to uncertainty about who is in power now. According to Helen Lyme, the UN envoy to Haiti, Prime Minister Claude Joseph is leading the Caribbean nation until elections are held. Elections Minister Matthias Pierre said Thursday that the latter would happen on September 26, as had already been scheduled for Moyes’ killing. Pierre described the passage of the elections as “a demand for a more stable country and a more stable political system.”