Arrests and confusion in the Haiti crises

The US is backing the Haitian "the prime minister who recently resigned his post" (?!) as the official head of government. (Jacqueline Charles and >Michael Wilner, Two South Florida men, 26 Colombians involved in Moïse assassination, Haiti police say Miami Herald 07/09/2021).

Arrests are continuing, including two Americans and a bunch of Colombians: Two South Florida men have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse, along with 15 Colombian nationals, Haiti police said Thursday night.

James Solages, 35, of Fort Lauderdale, was identified as one of the assailants by Mathias Pierre, a minister in charge of Haitian elections. Solages, originally from Haiti, is an American citizen, Pierre said.

Haitian officials have not released the names of the other men arrested, but they said there are a total of 15 Colombians under arrest along with the two South Florida Haitian Americans. Police said three of the assailants, Colombians as well, were killed. Earlier, Haiti police had said seven of the assailants were dead. They did not explain the discrepancy, but said they are still looking for eight other assailants, all Colombians.

And there are two significant additional contenders for heading the government, as Jacqueline Charles reports in Two politicians have been claiming they are in charge in Haiti. Now there are three Miami Herald 07/09/2021. The article gives an idea of how seriously the national institutions of governance has deteriorate as Haiti is undergoing its own authoritarian trend. Jean-Bertrand Aristide was the first democratically elected president, winning the office in 1990. He was illegally ousted, and later restored to power by the US under the Clinton Administration.

The US is heavily involved in Haitian politics. Haiti is the poorest country in Latin America.

What the Biden-Harris Administration does in the coming weeks and months in Haiti will be a glimpse at what his Latin American policy more generally is. It's a safe bet that Haitian policy will not be a high priority for this Administration and will be largely ignored by the US corporate media. Biden gave this description of the US interest in Haiti earlier in hi career (Joe Biden In 1994: If Haiti Fell In The Sea, ‘It Wouldn't Matter A Whole Lot’)

Claude Joseph's government, the one officially recognized by the Biden-Harris Administration at the moment, is asking for US assistance, unsurprisingly. (Maria Ortiz, El gobierno interino de Haití solicitó asistencia de seguridad de Estados Unidos La Opinión 10.Julio.2021; Evens Sanon et al, Haiti’s interim government asks the U.S. to send troops Los Angeles Times/AP 07/09/2021) This may be an entirely sensible request on Joseph's government's part. But if the US intervened with military or other security forces on behalf of this government, that obviously could provide a real political advantage to Joseph. Although, in the situation there right now, that's not even clear.

As the LA Times/AP repots:

Haiti had grown increasingly unstable under Moise, who had been ruling by decree for more than a year and faced violent protests as critics accused him of trying to amass more power while the opposition demanded he step down.

The U.N. Security Council met privately Thursday to discuss the situation in Haiti, and U.N. special envoy Helen La Lime said afterward that Haitian officials had asked for additional security assistance.

Deutsche Welle news also reports, Haiti asks US to send troops amid political power vacuum 07/10/2021:

The apparent involvement of Colombian mercenaries is another part of the story that will likely provide some interesting details as the story unfolds. The Argentine Página/12 reports (Tres colombianos más detenidos en Haití 10.07.2021):

La capital de Haití volvió a reanudar sus actividades este viernes con la reactivación gradual del servicio transporte público y un mayor número de personas en las calles, aunque la incertidumbre está latente en la población y en las distintas teorías que emergen. "Se trata de extranjeros que llegaron al país para perpetrar este crimen. Los haitianos estamos consternados", declaró un habitante de la capital. "Necesitamos saber quién está detrás de esto, sus nombres, sus antecedentes para que la justicia pueda hacer su trabajo". Algunos, como el exsenador Steven Benoit afirmaron que pueden haber policías haitianos involucrados. "Moïse fue asesinado por sus agentes de seguridad. No fueron los colombianos quienes lo asesinaron. Fueron contratados por el Estado haitiano", dijo el viernes en la radio el exsenador Steven Benoit, sobre la confusa trama que desestabiliza al país con mayor pobreza del continente.

[Haiti's capital resumed its activities on Friday with the gradual reactivation of public transport service and a greater number of people on the streets, although uncertainty is latent in the population and in the different theories that emerge. "These are foreigners who came to the country to perpetrate this crime. Haitians are dismayed," said a resident of the capital. "We need to know who is behind this, their names, their background so that justice can do its job." Some, like former Senator Steven Benoit, claimed that Haitian police may be involved. "Moïse was killed by his security agents. It was not the Colombians who murdered him. They were hired by the Haitian state," former Senator Steven Benoit said on the radio Friday, about the confusing plot destabilizing the continent's most poverty-stricken country.] {my translation}