As the island nation of Haiti grapples with the assassination of its president Jovenel Moise, President Joe Biden said there’s no larger deployment on the agenda to stabilize the country but that American Marines will be sent to the US Embassy in Haiti, The Hill reports.
During Thursday’s press briefing, Biden noted that American Marines are sent to enhance security of the US embassy in Port-au-Prince but that sending American forces to Haiti is not on the agenda at this moment.
Haiti’s interim government requested US and UN troops’ assistance in the wake of Moise’s murder by gunmen last week, but White House immediately appeared to rule out sending any troops.
Commenting Biden’s statement, Elections Minister Mathias Pierre said that Haiti is in a fragile state and foreign troops could be used for security ahead of elections scheduled for September, suggesting that Biden could still opt for a larger US mission beyond guarding the embassy.
Pierre added that, in the meantime, the government is doing everything it can to stabilize the country and organize elections while trying to come to a political agreement with most political parties.
Washington has also sent FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies’ officials to assist Haitian authorities with their investigation.
Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Ken Hoffman acknowledged earlier on Thursday that a small number of Moise’s assassins had received US training in the past, additionally increasing the role US had in the case in addition to the fact that three US citizens are among the assassins, that one of the murder suspects had previously worked as a confidential source of DEA and that a Florida-based security firm hired some of the Colombian mercenaries involved in the assassination.
Be the first to comment