Assassination suspects behind killing of president Jovenel Moise arrested inside island’s Taiwanese embassy

• Haitian police find 11 men believed to have been involved in the killing of president Jovenel Moise
• Haiti is one of 15 countries to recognise Taipei, whose embassy statement said it gave permission for police to enter

A group of men believed to have been part of the hit squad that killed Haitian president Jovenel Moise were arrested after they broke into and hid inside Taiwan’s embassy on the Caribbean island.

Eleven men suspected of being involved in the assassination were arrested on Thursday after the Taiwanese embassy gave permission to the police to enter the premises, according to a statement published on the embassy’s website on Friday.

“Taiwan, as a responsible member of the international community, and a long-time loyal friend and credible partner of the Republic of Haiti, immediately agreed to and authorised the Haitian police to conduct a search to seek justice and ascertain the truth behind the incident as soon as possible,” the statement read.

The Haitian police said on Thursday the hit squad was made up of 26 Colombian nationals and two Americans of Haitian origin. The Taiwanese embassy did not state the nationalities of the suspects apprehended on its grounds, located near Moise’s residence, where he was shot.

Taiwan’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the island’s embassy had been closed for security reasons since martial law was imposed following the assassination, and all staff were working from home until further notice.

“In the early morning of July 8, security personnel at the embassy discovered a group of fully armed, suspicious-looking individuals breaking through the security perimeter and entering the courtyard. The security company immediately made emergency calls to notify embassy staff as well as the Haiti police,” she said.

In response to a request from the Haiti government, the Taiwanese embassy had immediately agreed to let police enter its premises to conduct a search and make arrests, to ensure that justice prevailed and the facts concerning the incident were brought to light, she stressed.

“The Haiti police commenced an operation at around 4pm on July 8, arresting 11 armed suspects. The operation went smoothly, and the suspects did not resist arrest,” Ou said, adding that police had taken the men for investigation.

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The assassination has raised concerns in Taiwan over whether Haiti may break its decades-old formal relations with Taipei. But observers said Haiti was less likely to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing, which claims sovereignty over Taiwan and has wooed away many of Taipei’s allies.

Yen Chen-shen, a professor with the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University in Taipei, said the United States, which has persistently aided the small Caribbean country, would not want to see Beijing’s influence in Haiti, which is considered to be in the US backyard.

“The US has already warned Taiwan’s allies in Latin America against switching ties to Beijing, and so Taiwan’s formal relations with the Caribbean country should remain safe,” he said.

“Since the end of the autocratic rule by Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986, Haiti has gone through a series of transfers of power by military and democratic governments, but none had moved to sever formal relations with Taiwan.”