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U.S. Seeks Extradition From Jamaica of Suspect in Murder of Haiti’s Moise

U.S. Seeks Extradition From Jamaica of Suspect in Murder of Haiti's Moise

Haiti's President Jovenel Moise speaks during the investiture ceremony of the independent advisory committee for the drafting of the new constitution at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti October 30, 2020. REUTERS/Andres Martinez Casares/File Photo

KINGSTON (Reuters) — The United States has requested the extradition from Jamaica of a suspect in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, the suspect’s lawyer said on Thursday.

Former Haitian Senator John Joel Joseph, whom the Haitian government considers a key suspect in Moise’s murder last July, was arrested in Jamaica after having fled Haiti.

Joseph has agreed to the extradition, his lawyer Donahue Martin said in a telephone interview.

The United States has become increasingly involved in the investigation of Moise’s murder, with key suspects facing the prospect of trial in U.S. courts as a probe by the Caribbean nation’s authorities stalls.

Moise was shot dead by assassins armed with assault rifles who stormed his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince, sparking a man hunt and investigations across several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

—REUTERS

Days after the murder, then-National Police Chief Leon Charles said Joseph was a key player in the plot, saying he supplied weapons and planned meetings.

(Reporting by Kate Chappell in Kingston, writing by Brian Ellsworth in Miami)

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