On July 14, local time, the Pentagon said that the U.S. military had trained Colombian soldiers suspected of assassinating the Haitian president.
In a statement to The Washington Post, Pentagon spokesman Ken Hoffman said an investigation into the incident was still ongoing. "A review of our training database shows that a small number of detained Colombians have participated in U.S. military training and education programs and are active members of the Colombian military."
But Hoffman did not disclose the specific number of suspects trained in the United States.
In the early morning of July 7, 28 foreign mercenaries, including Colombians and two Haitian-Americans, assassinated Haitian President Moiz in their private homes. Colombia confirmed that at least 13 of them had served in the military.
According to Russia Today, the U.S. government provides more than $200 million in aid to Colombia every year, most of which goes to the Colombian military and police. The Pentagon has trained thousands of soldiers for Colombia and other countries.
"The purpose of this training is to promote respect for human rights, respect for the rule of law, and obedience of the military to elected leaders," Hoffman said. ”
But on social media, netizens questioned the purpose of such training for the U.S. military. Some netizens posted a series of negative examples trained by the US military, including a Saudi man who attacked a military base in Florida in 2019, a Saudi agent who killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, and a large number of Middle Eastern militants.
Screenshots of related news posted by American netizens
Anti-war activist Kate Kaiser quipped, "Tell me again how U.S. foreign military training and assistance have become an important tool for 'building peace and security.'" ”
According to reports, on the 15th local time, Haiti's first lady Martina, who was seriously injured in the assassination incident and hospitalized, spoke again, and she sent a message thanking the medical staff for helping her persevere, and for the first time released the photo of herself lying on the hospital bed.
Martina social media screenshots
Earlier, Martina had posted a message on social media calling for the continued push for Moiz's "fight" for Haiti's "stability."
(Original title: The United States admits: the killer was trained by me)
Source: Governor of Chang'an Avenue
Source: China Search