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U.S. "analyzing" Haiti's request to send troops

11 July 2021
Dan Ackermann

The Defense Department is "analyzing" a request by Haitian authorities to send troops to assist in stabilizing the country and protect critical infrastructure following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, according to Pentagon spokesman John Kirby.

The latest: No decision has been made, Kirby said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. "We're analyzing it, just like we would any other request for assistance here at the Pentagon. It's going through a review."

  • Haitian officials have also reached out to the United Nations about sending peacekeeping forces, Reuters reports.
  • Elections Minister Mathias Pierre told AP Saturday the troops were needed because local police didn't have enough resources, saying: "We're asking for small troops to assist and help us. ... As long as we are weak, I think we will need our neighbors."
  • Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph said in an interview with ABC News on Saturday that police had "the right people" in custody and revealed that Moïse was "tortured" before he was killed.

What they're saying: The State Department said in a statement Axios on Friday that the Haitian government "has requested security and investigative assistance, and we remain in regular contact with Haitian officials to discuss how the United States can assist."

  • "I think that’s really where are our energies are best applied right now, in 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 on Sunday.

What to watch: White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday the U.S. will send federal law enforcement officers to aid in the investigation.

  • Senior officials from the FBI and Department of Homeland Security will travel to Port-au-Prince "as soon as possible" to "assess the situation and how we may be able to assist," Psaki said.
  • The White House will also send coronavirus vaccines to Haiti as early as next week, according to Psaki.

The big picture: 2o suspects have been detained over the assassination, which also wounded Martine Moïse, Joseph said.

  • An audio recording, claimed to be of the first lady, was posted to her verified Twitter account on Saturday. In it, the female voice says that the deceased president's enemies orchestrated his assassination, but does not identify anyone specifically.

MESSAGE DE LA PREMIÈRE DAME MARTINE MOISE. pic.twitter.com/cFQW70xTFE

— Martine Moïse (@martinejmoise) July 10, 2021
  • The assassination comes amid increasing political turmoil and gang violence in Port-au-Prince as inflation and a delayed election contribute to the state of crisis in the Western Hemisphere's most impoverished nation.

Go deeper:Coup claim deepens Haiti's political crisis

Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional information throughout.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.