(FILES) In this file photo taken on July 07, 2021, a Haitian police officer stands guard outside of the presidential residence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated. 鈥� A former Haitian lawmaker who is a suspect in the assassination of the country鈥檚 president has been arrested in Jamaica, a police source said on January 15, 2022. Ex-senator John Joel Joseph, wanted in the July 7, 2021, killing of president Jovenel Moise, was arrested overnight Friday into Saturday, the source said, without specifying where in Jamaica. (Photo by VALERIE BAERISWYL / AFP)
MIAMI 鈥� A former Haitian lawmaker who is a suspect in the assassination of the country鈥檚 president has been arrested in Jamaica, Jamaican authorities said Saturday.
Ex-senator Jean Joel Joseph, wanted in the July 7, 2021, killing of president Jovenel Moise, was arrested Friday evening, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) said in a statement.
The JCF 鈥渃an confirm that a Haitian national; Jean Joel Joseph and three other members (of) his family were arrested in Jamaica on immigration related charges,鈥� the statement said.
Jamaican investigators contacted Haitian authorities who said Joseph was 鈥渨anted in Haiti as a suspect in the alleged assassination of the Haitian President in 2021,鈥� it added.
Joseph was arrested at a house in St. Elizabeth, a parish in the southwest of the island.
A Jamaican police source told AFP that Joseph is 鈥渂eing detained at the moment.鈥�
The source said Jamaican police acted in conjunction with 鈥渋nternational law enforcement partners鈥� and that 鈥渏oint investigations鈥� had been underway.
Moise, who was unpopular in Haiti, was killed and his wife was seriously wounded when a commando of around 20 men burst into the presidential residence and shot them in July.
Dozens of suspects had been arrested previously over Moise鈥檚 murder, but much about the assassination remains murky, especially who ordered it.
An arrest warrant was issued for Joseph right after the killing, with authorities describing him as 鈥渁rmed and dangerous.鈥� Joseph was an opposition senator and fierce critic of the president.
More than 40 people, including more than a dozen Colombians and some Americans of Haitian origin, have been arrested in connection with the assassination.
The killing deepened an already dramatic crisis in Haiti, which is suffering from a lack of security, soaring gang violence and a spate of kidnappings.
Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has in effect been running the country since Moise鈥檚 death, told AFP this month that he too had been targeted in an assassination attempt, during national day celebrations.
Earlier this month, US authorities charged a retired Colombian soldier in connection with Moise鈥檚 killing.
The Justice Department said 43-year-old Mario Palacios, along with others, 鈥減articipated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian President.鈥�
US prosecutors said the plot against Moise 鈥渋nitially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the president as part of a purported arrest operation,鈥� but it 鈥渦ltimately resulted in a plot to kill.鈥�
The US Congress on Thursday ordered a probe into Moise鈥檚 assassination.
The Senate voted unanimously Thursday to order the State Department to issue a report within 180 days that would provide a 鈥渄etailed description鈥� of the circumstances surrounding Moise鈥檚 killing.