One of the Haitian-American suspects arrested in relation to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise last week had been an informant to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
One of the Haitian-American suspects arrested in connection with the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise had worked as an informant for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The DEA confirmed on Tuesday that the suspect was «at times» a confidential source to the agency, and that he reached out to his contacts at the DEA following the killing. «A DEA official assigned to Haiti urged the suspect to surrender to local authorities and, along with a U.S. State Department official, provided information to the Haitian government that assisted in the surrender and arrest of the suspect and one other individual,» a DEA spokesperson said. The DEA noted that it was aware of reports that perpetrators yelled «DEA» during the attack, but said the individuals were not acting on behalf of the agency. While the DEA did not provide the name of the suspect, two law enforcement officials identified him as Joseph Gertand Vincent, NBC News reported Tuesday. Federal court records acquired by NBC News indicate that Vincent was first arrested more than 20 years ago for filing a false name and date of birth on his U.S. passport application. He was later sentenced to two years of probation and was directed to live in a community corrections center in Florida after he violated the terms of his sentence. Vincent had previously been identified as one of two U.S. citizens detained for suspected involvement in the killing of the president at his private Port-au-Prince home last Wednesday.
