James Solages and Vincent Joseph, two Haitian-Americans with ties to Florida, were brought before journalists in handcuffs at a press conference late Thursday.

Two Haitian-Americans With Florida Ties Accused of Taking Part in Haitian President’s Assassination

2 Haitian Americans detained in slaying of Haiti president

Solages describes himself as a “certified diplomatic agent,” an advocate for children and budding politician on a website for a charity he established in 2019 in south Florida to assist residents.

On his bio page for the charity, Solages said he previously worked as a bodyguard at the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. Calls to the foundation and Solages’ associates at the charity either did not go through or were not answered.

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One man was overheard saying that it was unacceptable for foreigners to come to Haiti to kill the country’s leader, referring to reports from officials that the perpetrators spoke Spanish or English.

The crowd later set fire to several abandoned cars riddled with bullet holes that they believed belonged to the suspects, who were white men. The cars didn’t have license plates, and inside one of them was an empty box of bullets and some water.

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Joseph, meanwhile, was supposed to be replaced by Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who had been named prime minister by Moïse a day before the assassination.

Henry told the AP in a brief interview that he is the prime minister, calling it an exceptional and confusing situation. In another interview with Radio Zenith, he said he had no dispute with Joseph. “I only disagree with the fact that people have taken hasty decisions … when the moment demands a little more serenity and maturity,” he said.

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Robert Fatton, a Haitian politics expert at the University of Virginia, said gangs were a force to contend with and it isn’t certain Haiti’s security forces can enforce a state of siege.

“It’s a really explosive situation,” he said, adding that foreign intervention with a U.N.-type military presence is a possibility. “Whether Claude Joseph manages to stay in power is a huge question. It will be very difficult to do so if he doesn’t create a government of national unity.”

More about James Solages: U.S. Citizen Accused in Haitian Assassination Plot

Bocchit Edmond, the Haitian ambassador to the United States, told the AP that the attack “was carried out by foreign mercenaries and professional killers — well-orchestrated,” who pretended to be DEA agents. According to AP, the DEA does have a presence in Haiti’s capital to “assist the government in counternarcotics programs.”

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