JAMAICA | Main Suspect In Murder Of Haitian President, Jovenel Moïse, Arrested In Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica, October 21, 2020  – Wiredja Online News understands that one of the primary suspects in the murder of Haitian President, Jovenel Moïse, has been arrested in Jamaica.

Law enforcement sources are reporting that Colombian national and former military officer, Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, who is wanted by international law enforcement in connection with the assassination of Haitian President, was held by local cops for illegal entry to the island.

However, further checks by the immigration police  revealed that  Palacios is the man being sought by the International Criminal Police Organization, INTERPOL investigation by law enforcement officials in Haiti as they probe the July 7 assassination of Moïse.

Haiti issued a wanted bulletin for the former Colombian military officer, whom it claimed had travelled to the country at least one day before the assassination of Moise.

The Haitian National Police, in its notice described Palacios as “a very dangerous” person and appealed to Haitians to contact law enforcement authorities should he be seen. According to the PNH, the man had travelled with several former soldiers involved in the assassination of President Moïse.

It said that he left Colombia for the Dominican Republic on Friday June 4, travelling by the El Dorado airport. The authorities said that he was on the same Avianca flight with other members of the commando unit that shot and killed Moïse.

A statement issued by the Jamaica Constabulary Force, JCF, confirmed that an individual alleging to be a Colombian national has been arrested in Jamaica on immigration breaches.

The JCF says the individual has become the subject of an INTERPOL Red Notice as of today, October 21, 2021, and it is now working with its international partners in line with established treaties and protocols.

A Red Notice is issued for fugitives wanted either for prosecution or to serve a sentence.

A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action.

Palacios is considered one of the most wanted men in Haiti. Haiti had reportedly requested that he be flagged by INTERPOL.

Following the assassination, the Haitian National Police (PNH) announced that it had launched a wanted notice against Palacios who it said was part of the group of mercenaries which killed Moïse. 

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