US investigators arrive in Haiti to help in hunt for president’s assassins

A seven-member team of federal investigators from the United States has arrived in Haiti on Sunday to help with the investigation into the killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

While the White House and Pentagon are considering the Haitian government's request for troops to assist protect the nation, they are hesitant in sending American soldiers or Marines, reports The New York Times.

John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, told Fox News that a team of FBI agents and Department of Homeland Security officials will assist the investigation into last Wednesday's killing of the Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

"I think that's really where our energies are best applied right now, helping them get their arms around investigating this incident and figuring out who's culpable, who's responsible, and how best to hold them accountable going forward," Kirby said.

The team included policy officials from the National Security Council, the State Department and the Transportation Security Administration as well as investigators from the FBI, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security.

In the aftermath of the killing, there has been unrest in various regions of Haiti, with some individuals gathering outside the US Embassy in the hope of fleeing, and opposing political factions battling for control of the country.

Fox News' Chris Wallace pushed Kirby on whether the situation in Haiti was a national security issue. While the US is keeping a close eye on the situation, Kirby believes an American investigation team would be "the best way forward."

"I don't know that we're at a point now where we can say definitively that our national security is being put at risk by what's happening there," Kirby said. "But clearly we value our Haitian partners. We value stability and security in that country."

The Pentagon was taken off guard by Haiti's request for soldiers on Friday, but Kirby's statements on Sunday revealed that the thinking had not changed and, if anything, had hardened against any additional deployment a few days later.

The Biden administration has been evaluating troop deployments across the world and is determined to keep American soldiers out of Afghanistan and the Middle East.