11 armed suspects try to break into Taiwan embassy in Haiti; arrested
- According to Taiwan’s foreign ministry, some doors and windows were broken but there was no other damage to the embassy.
Two days after the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise, 11 armed suspects tried to break into the Taiwanese embassy in Port-au-Prince, said Taiwan foreign ministry on Friday. The ministry said that all suspects have been arrested, without giving any details about their identities or their reason for the break-in.
“As for whether the suspects were involved in the assassination of the President of Haiti, that will need to be investigated by the Haitian police,” Taiwan’s foreign affairs spokesperson Joanne Ou told The Associated Press.
The suspects attempted to break into the embassy while Taiwanese diplomats were working from home. The embassy security guards alerted the police regarding criminal trespass, officials said. According to Taiwan’s foreign ministry, some doors and windows were broken but there was no other damage to the embassy.
Also Read | PM Modi sends condolences to Haiti over assassination of President Jovenel Moise
Haiti is one of a handful of countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Taiwan instead of the rival mainland Chinese government in Beijing. The Caribbean island of more than 11 million people had grown unstable under Moise but the president’s assassination has exacerbated the uncertainty over the country’s politics.
Moise was found assassinated at his private residence on Wednesday. Haiti’s interim prime minister Claude Joseph said in a statement that a group of unidentified assailants attacked Moise’s home at around 1am and fatally shot the head of the state. First Lady Martine Moise also sustained injuries and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Miami, US.
Seventeen suspects have been detained so far in connection with Moise’s assassination but officials have not revealed the motive behind the killing. Among the suspects are two US citizens who were arrested by the Haitian police on Thursday. One of the arrested men was a former bodyguard at the Canadian embassy in Haitian capital Port au Prince, as per Associated Press report.
(With AP inputs)
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