11 gunmen storm Taiwan embassy in Haiti
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Five of the suspects arrested at the Taiwan embassy. (PNH photo) Five of the suspects arrested at the Taiwan embassy. (PNH photo)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Nearly a dozen gunmen believed to be involved in the assassination of Haiti’s president forced their way into the Taiwan embassy on Thursday (July 8) but have since been arrested, and no injuries have been reported.
Taiwan’s embassy in Port-au-Prince has been closed since the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on Wednesday (July 7), with staff working from home. However, Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) told Taiwan News that early Thursday morning the embassy’s security team discovered a band of armed men had breached the facility’s security perimeter.
The men had managed to make their way past the security guard station and entered the embassy’s courtyard. Upon discovering the breach, security personnel immediately notified embassy staff and the Haitian police.
Embassy staff approved a request from the Haitian government to deploy police into the compound to conduct a search for the suspects. Police launched the operation at 4 p.m. that afternoon and apprehended 11 armed suspects, according to Ou.
Based on an initial inspection, the embassy sustained some minor damage during the intrusion, including broken windows and doors. However, Ou made it clear that no staff members were in the embassy at the time.
The Haitian National Police have since taken the men into custody for questioning. It is currently unclear why the men targeted the Taiwan embassy.
Haiti 24 released images of five of the suspects who had been arrested at the embassy. Among these is 35-year-old Haitian-American James Solages, one of two American citizens believed to have been involved in the assassination.
According to the AyiboPost, Haitian authorities believe 28 mercenaries took part in the assassination, including 26 Colombians and two Americans. Thus far, authorities have captured 17 suspects, including 15 Colombians and the two Americans, and killed three, leaving eight allegedly still on the run.
Leon Charles, the country’s interim national police chief, said the goal now is to track down the masterminds behind the crime. The following are the identities of some of the suspects captured by the government thus far, as reported by the AyiboPost:
11 gunmen arrested at Taiwan embassy in Haiti
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台灣使館遭暗殺海地總統刺客闖入 11嫌落網 - 國際
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海地警方逮捕刺殺總統摩依士（Jovenel Moise）嫌犯
在海地總統摩依士（Jovenel Moise）遇刺身亡後，又傳出武裝分子闖入台灣駐海地大使館的消息，而相關消息已獲外交部證實。
不過，據德國之聲東亞特派記者William Yang推文說，雖然使館部分窗戶被打破，但並未造成任何財產損失。而海地警方在當地時間下午4點時，已逮捕11名嫌犯。警方在逮捕過程中，曾稱他們為「外國傭兵」。而外交部已力促使館加強安全，並將繼續觀察後續發展。
涉嫌刺殺海地總統摩依士（Jovenel Moise）的嫌犯8日在海地首都太子港（Port-au-Prince）被捕後，被警方公開示眾。（美聯社）
Dramatic development from Haiti regarding #Taiwan: Following the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise @MOFA_Taiwan confirmed to me that a group of armed men broke into #Taiwan’s Embassy in Haiti. Local police arrested 11 suspects at 4 pm local time. — William Yang (@WilliamYang120) July 9 2021
不過，據《南華早報》（South China Morning Post）等外電報導，外交部已證實，這些嫌犯涉及摩依士的行刺案，當天使館讓海地警方入內，順利逮捕相關嫌犯。外交部在聲明中說，台灣身為國際社會負責的成員，也是海地共和國長期的忠實朋友和可靠夥伴，立即同意並授權海地警方展開搜查，以尋求正義，並盡快釐清事件真相。
而據BBC新聞網9日報導，海地警方說，暗殺摩依士的行刺隊大都是由退伍的哥倫比亞士兵組成。行刺隊中有26名哥倫比亞人，以及兩名海地裔美國人。另外有8名嫌犯仍在逃，而包括兩名美國人在內，已有17人被捕，至於其他嫌犯已在海地首都太子港（Port-au-Prince）和警方爆發槍戰時被擊斃。
目前還不清楚，究竟誰是幕後主謀，還有刺殺的動機。不過，海地臨時總理喬塞德（Claude Joseph）說，53歲的摩依士可能已被鎖定，因為他正與寡頭統治集團成員奮戰。
海地總統摩依士（Jovenel Moise）遇刺後，當地陷入更混亂的局勢，圖為民眾8日要警方交出被革斃的兩名嫌犯屍體。（美聯社）
無論如何，海地警方周四將逮捕的嫌犯，他們的武器和哥倫比亞護照等證據示眾。「外國人到我們的國家來殺總統，」海地警察局長查爾斯（Léon Charles）說，「我們會加強調查和搜索技巧，已攔截其他8名外籍傭兵。」