President Gustavo Petro anticipated this weekend that intends to visit Haiti to define the way that his country can support a solution to the situation of violence in the Caribbean country, about which he said “there is a shared responsibility.”
After speaking in the plenary session of the XXVIII Ibero-American Summit, which was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Petro assured that he plans to visit Haiti.
“I have the idea of going to Haiti to be able to establish what the role of Colombia would be in the most constructive way possible.”Petro said.
The situation in Haiti, ravaged by a rise in violence by criminal gangs after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021 at the hands of a group of 26 Colombian mercenaries –18 of them captured– was part of the speeches of various heads of State and Government who were present at the meeting.
It may interest you: Murder of six police officers sparks violence in Haiti
The first to do so was the president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, who called for an immediate response from the UN, which would allow “putting out the fire” and then calling for elections.
“70% of the territory of Port-au-Prince is controlled by criminal groups and we cannot ignore that,” said Chaves, who described Haiti as a failed state.
The Costa Rican was followed by his counterpart to the President of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, for whom “the only way to help Haiti is to pacify it.”
“It’s the only way,” added Abinader, who lamented the rise of armed gangs, which he pointed out as the cause of daily violations of human rights and the integrity of the poorest level of the Haitian people.
Petro had already apologized to Haiti for the assassination of its president in September last year.
Keep reading: Dominican Republic divides the island with the construction of a wall on the border with Haiti
“Today I asked Haiti for forgiveness for the assassination of its president committed by Colombian mercenaries.” said the Colombian head of state on his Twitter account on September 21.
The official version determined that between Those in charge of planning and executing the crime were 21 retired soldiers of Colombian nationality, three of whom were killed on the spot by Moïse’s security service. Two Haitian-American mercenaries also participated in the action.
The group of 18 Colombian mercenaries is still being held by the Haitian authorities in the midst of the investigation into the assassination, while The United States has captured another 10 people involved in the murder of Moses.
The last captures were those of Antonio Intriago, owner of CTU Security, a security company that would have hired the Colombian mercenaries involved in the crime; and Arcángel Pretelt Ortiz, a Colombian who would be a partner of Intriago.
The third person captured is Walter Veintemilla, an American which, according to the authorities, lent a large sum of money to the contracting company of the mercenaries.