Murder Mystery: What Were Colombian Military Vets Doing in Haiti?

[Judi Lynn]

At least 20 Colombians have been implicated by Haitian officials in the plot to assassinate the president. But their role in the killing, if any, is murky.



Weapons, communication devices and documents seized by Haitian police in connection to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti. Credit...Estailove St-Val/Reuters

By Julie Turkewitz and Simon Romero
July 11, 2021, 7:56 p.m. ET

BOGOTÁ, Colombia — One evening in early June, Mauricio Javier Romero, a decorated 20-year veteran of the Colombian military, received a call from an old army buddy.

The friend wanted to recruit him for a job — “legal” and “safe” work that would send him abroad, according to Mr. Romero’s wife, Giovanna Romero.

“This person told him that he wouldn’t get in trouble,” she said, “that it was a good opportunity for professional growth, for economic growth — and knowing what a quality professional my husband was, he wanted him to be part of the team.”

A month later, Mr. Romero, 45, is dead, one of several men killed in Haiti in the aftermath of the assassination last week of President Jovenel Moïse, and one of at least 20 Colombians implicated by Haitian officials in a murder that has plunged the Caribbean nation into chaos.

More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/11/world/americas/haiti-colombian-mercenaries.html

Also posted in Editorials:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1016296787

[getagrip_already]

1. foreign security details are very common in haiti, especially in pap.....

The miami herald had a piece on it in the last day or two. With gang activity running rampant, business owners have contracted with private security firms to protect their investments. Most of the firms are either columbian or eastern european vets.

Why a private security firm would take a job to kill the president with no real exit/escape strategy is the real question.

It is a coup hanging in mid air. A somewhat complex and surely expensive hit that didn't result in a change to the power structure.

It's like they expected to be spirited out of the country by the junta that was going to take over.

Very odd.

[Judi Lynn]

3. So good to see your post. Had never occurred to me, it seems so logical. All parts appear to fit.

Undoubtedly you remember the assassination plot meant to vaporize Evo Morales in Bolivia in April, 2009:

Security forces 'thwart assassination plot' against Morales
Issued on: 16/04/2009 - 19:29

3 min
Bolivian President Evo Morales said three foreigners were killed in a half-hour shootout in a Santa Cruz hotel Thursday, as security services thwarted an assassination plot against him and his top officials.

AFP - Bolivia's President Evo Morales said police in his country on Thursday broke up a plot by foreign mercenaries to kill him, suggesting that right-wing opponents were behind it.

In La Paz, Bolivian police said that three people were shot to death and two detained in the eastern city of Santa Cruz when police raided a downtown hotel in search of a "terrorist group."

Morales, who was visiting here on his way to a summit in Trinidad and Tobago, said the raid set off a 30-minute firefight.
They were "plotting against the life of the vice president and of Evo Morales," he said, referring to himself in the third person.
"They are foreign mercenaries -- they are Irish, Hungarians and of course there are no Bolivians," he said.

Police in La Paz, however, said some Bolivians were involved, and Vice President Alvaro Garcia said at a news conference that the foreigners involved were Croats and Irish.

Officials said the government had documents showing that the opposition governor of Santa Cruz, Ruben Costas, also was a target of the plot along with Morales and Garcia.
"What must be done is to find out who financed this group of terrorist mercenaries," Garcia said.

Morales suggested that the alleged plot was linked to right-wing opponents of a new election law that is enabling him to run for a second five-year term in December, and which grants broad new rights to the country's indigenous communities.

More:
https://www.france24.com/en/20090416-security-forces-thwart-assassination-plot-against-morales-

~ ~ ~

Also the kidnapping of Manuel Zelaya, of Honduras:


Honduras president arrested in military coup
This article is more than 12 years old
Manuel Zelaya sent into exile ahead of opposed constitutional referendum as protesters surround disarmed palace
Associated Press
Sun 28 Jun 2009 11.41 EDT

The president of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, has been forced into exile after being arrested by a group of soldiers in an apparent military coup.

More than a dozen soldiers disarmed his security guards after surrounding his residence before dawn. Speaking after fleeing to Costa Rica, Zelaya said the soldiers roused him out of bed, beat his body guards and arrested him in his pajamas in what he described as "a coup" and "a kidnapping.".

There were reports of clashes in the capital, Tegucigalpa, after protesters flocked to the presidential palace as local news media reported that Zelaya had been sent into exile.

US president Barack Obama called for all sides in Honduras to respect democracy and the rule of law.

Zelaya was detained shortly before voting was to begin on a constitutional referendum the president had insisted on holding, even though the supreme court ruled it illegal and everyone from the military to congress and members of his own party opposed it.

Zelaya was taken into military custody at his house outside the capital,Tegucigalpa, and whisked away to an air force base on the outskirts of the city, Carlos Enrique Reina told AP.

Tanks rolled through the streets and army trucks carrying hundreds of soldiers equipped with metal riot shields surrounded the presidential palace in the capital's centre. About 100 Zelaya supporters, many wearing "Yes" T-shirts for the referendum, blocked the main street outside the gates to the palace, throwing rocks and insults at soldiers and shouting "Traitors! Traitors!"

More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jun/28/honduras-coup-president-zelaya

~ ~ ~

Both situations happened in the first year after a right-wing US president, who hated the Latin American progressive sitting progressive Presidents had been replaced by a moderate Democrat.

~ ~ ~

Thank you for introducing what is such a likely explanation. ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[RainCaster]

2. Tourists, just like Jan 6