A security firm in South Florida is being probed with questions for the possible participation in the assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse.
Officials say the proof was a photo they found in which men working for the firm were meeting with Colombian Americans suspected of being involved in the assassination.
The Associated Press reported that 26 Colombians have been named suspects in the assassination, and Colombia's national police chief, Gen. Jorge Luis Vargas, told reporters in Bogota that three Colombians were killed and 18 so far arrested.
Antonio "Tony" Intriago, the owner of Miami-based CTU Security, was accused on Wednesday of traveling to Haiti multiple times, hiring more than 20 former Colombian soldiers for the job, and signing a contract of some kind, although further evidence and details are unknown.
In the picture being used as proof of the scheme, Intriago is seen next to James Solanges and Christian Sanon, two of the Haitian-Americans from South Florida who are now in custody as well, according to WPLG.
Per the Associated Press, the deal was expected from a security company that allegedly had a history of avoiding debts and declaring bankruptcy.
Vargas has said that CTU Security used its company credit card to buy 19 plane tickets from Bogota to Santo Domingo for the Colombian suspects allegedly involved in the killing, and one of the Colombians who was killed, Duberney Capador, photographed himself wearing a black CTU Security polo shirt.
Richard Noriega, who is in the same business as Intriago by running his own security consulting firm, told AP News that Intriago was most likely lured by the prospect of fast money.
Pretending to be in Intriago's shoes, he said, "I'm coming out of a complicated situation — of work, of income, of money. An opportunity arises. I don't want to lose it."
"It is very murky," Noriega added, after detailing that a security company would seek all the details of an operation and find out how many people to use and what level of insurance they would need, and would even plan a priority exit in case of evacuation, which Intriago did not do.
"The first thing we (security professionals) have to take into account is the evacuation. Where will they exit? That's the first thing I do," he said.
Léon Charles said in a separate report that the gunmen's initial mission was to provide protection for a Haitian suspect of the assassination, but the Colombians were ordered to arrest the president later in the mission.
"The investigation is very advanced," Charles said on Wednesday.
It is unclear how the mission turned into an assassination, but efforts are coming together to find the culprits.
Pentagon chief spokesman John Kirby said on Fox News Sunday that the Department of Homeland Security would be helping Haiti "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."
Newsweek reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
