Several men accused in assassination of Haitian president trained at Ga. military base, DoD says

FORT BENNING, Ga. — Several men accused in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse earlier this month went through a training program at a Georgia Army base several years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Seven of the 25 men with alleged involvement in the plot to kill Haiti’s president were said to have gone through at least one “U.S. sponsored professional military training opportunity while previously serving in the Colombian military” between 2001 and 2015, the DoD said in a statement.

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Four of those men went through Fort Benning’s Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC). Fort Benning is one of the largest U.S. Army bases in the country and located in central Georgia near Columbus.

DoD officials did not comment on how many people took part in each course, but listed all of the courses in which at least one of the suspects participated in at WHINSEC. Those programs include Cadet Leadership Development, Counter Drug Operations, NCO Professional Development and Small Unit Leader Training.

All WHINSEC courses also include human rights and ethics training.

Officials say the suspects also participated in less formal training seminars in Washington D.C. that focused on specific topic areas, including “medical, engineering, logistics, operations, maintenance or other support of weapon systems and support equipment, as well as training for general military operations.”

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President Moïse was killed and his wife was injured by gunmen in an overnight raid in their home. Hours after the attack, police killed four suspects and arrested two others.

In the weeks following the attack, as many as 25 people have been suspected of being part of the assassination.

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DoD officials have not identified the suspects who participated in the U.S. sponsored military training programs.

Fort Benning officials did not comment on the matter and pointed Channel 2 Action News requests back to the Department of Defense.

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