Tag: The Associated Press

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the U.S. federal trial of four men charged in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages are charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Haiti’s former leader, plus related charges. They face possible life sentences. They all pleaded not guilty.

The head of Haiti’s National Police told The Associated Press on Friday that authorities are still working on a plan to safely hold general elections this year as promised by the government, despite persistent gang violence. André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, who became the department’s interim head in August, said he could not provide more details but would release more information soon.

The U.S. Embassy added that such a maneuver would undermine efforts to establish “a minimal level of security and stability” in Haiti, where gang violence is surging and poverty deepening. The statement came as some members of the council are at odds with Haitian Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aimé, although it wasn’t immediately clear why. The council met behind closed doors earlier Wednesday. A spokesman for the prime minister’s office said he could not comment on the situation. The council’s seven members with voting powers did not return messages asking for comment.

Heavily armed gangs attacked Haiti’s central region over the weekend, killing men, women and children as they set fire to homes and forced survivors to flee into the darkness. Police made emergency calls for backup, asserting that 50% of the Artibonite region had fallen under gang control after the large-scale attacks targeting towns including Bercy and Pont-Sondé.

Le gouvernement américain a imposé des restrictions de visa à Fritz Alphonse Jean, membre du Conseil présidentiel de transition d'Haïti, l'accusant de soutenir les gangs du petit pays des Caraïbes.