Foreign Minister Luis Gilberto Murillo confirmed that the Government of Colombia was taking steps to try to obtain the repatriation of ex-Colombian soldiers imprisoned in Haiti since 2021, accused of having participated in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that with the Colombian Minister of Justice, Néstor Osuna, they are evaluating how to reach an agreement with the Government of Haiti to allow Colombians detained in that country to continue the process or their possible conviction in Colombia.

"We hope that together, with Minister Osuna and our consul, we can move forward with the establishment of the mechanism and that we can, at least, repatriate those who may have a sentence and see what mechanism we will use so that those who were not convicted. We can obtain these procedures in Colombia, but it is a very technical legal question that the Ministry of Justice is studying," Murillo explained.

"Chancellor Murillo hopes to travel to Haiti to meet with Prime Minister Garry Conille and begin exploring the possibility of establishing an agreement to be able to repatriate those deprived of their liberty and guarantee due process," Murillo said about the return to normal in bilateral relations.

One of the points in dispute is that the people should be convicted, but none of the 18 Colombians arrested for the assassination have been found guilty and sentenced and are imprisoned on remand...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice are working to overcome this requirement and even open the possibility that the trial will take place with the Colombians imprisoned in Colombia, as has already been done with other countries of the region.

SL/ HaitiLibre