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A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 23 august 2024
Haiti arrests a suspect in the May killings of a U.S. missionary

couple and a nonprofit chief

By DÁNICA COTO had called him the night of
Associated Press the attack, to tell him that
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) gangs had forced them to
— Police in Haiti have ar- open the mission gates and
rested a suspect in the fatal looted the compound be-
shooting of a U.S. missionary fore he abruptly hung up.
couple and a Haitian man He said his son and others
who headed a nonprofit in came under gunfire before
an attack by gunmen ear- the gang broke into the
lier this year that stunned home and killed them.
many in the troubled Carib- They later set the house on
bean country. fire, Lloyd said, adding that
The May 23 killings of mis- more than about 100 gang
sionaries Davy Lloyd and members were believed to
his wife, Natalie Lloyd, and have participated in the
Jude Montis, the country’s attack.
director for Missions in Haiti The mission compound has
Inc., a Claremore, Okla- since closed, the first time in
homa organization, was 26 years, and the children
blamed on gangs rampag- the mission served relocat-
ing across Haiti’s capital ed to a safer community.
and beyond. “There are too many gangs
The killings took place in in the area,” he said. “The
the community of Lizon, A funeral procession for mission director Judes Montis, killed by gangs alongside two of his U.S. country as a whole seems
in northern Port-au-Prince. missionary members, makes its way to the cemetery after his funeral ceremony in Port-au-Prince, hopeless.”
The city has crumbled un- Haiti, May 28, 2024. Associated Press From January to May, more
der the relentless violence than 3,200 killings were re-
of gangs that control as any involvement in the kill- from Oklahoma on Thurs- ter-in law. ported across Haiti, with
much as 80% of the Haitian ings. It wasn’t immediately day that he wasn’t aware Natalie Lloyd was the gang violence leaving
capital. clear if the man has been of the circumstances be- daughter of Missouri state more than half a million
A video posted on social charged and if he has a hind the suspect’s arrest. Rep. Ben Baker, who was people homeless, accord-
media late Wednesday lawyer. The young couple Davy cautiously optimistic over ing to the United Nations.In
by Haiti’s National Police Police claim the suspect’s was 23 and Natalie just the news about the arrest February, gangs launched
shows a 52-year-old man in phone was used to make 21 were supposed to cel- and said he hopes that all coordinated attacks on
handcuffs, accused of be- calls after the killings, but ebrate their two-year wed- those “responsible face the key government infrastruc-
ing involved in the killings of the man rejected that ac- ding anniversary in June. consequences.” ture, raided police stations
the Lloyds and Montis. cusation. “They loved the Haitian “We want justice for what and opened fire at the
Arrests in high-profile killings David Lloyd, the father of people and were dedicat- took place,” Baker told the main international airport,
are very rare in Haiti. In the Davy Lloyd, told The Associ- ed to that country,” Lloyd AP. forcing it to shut down for
video, the suspect denies ated Press over the phone said of his son and daugh- David Lloyd said his son nearly three months. q

Venezuela’s Supreme Court certifies Maduro’s claims that he won

presidential election

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) senior officials and foreign more than 1 million votes. game on election day, op- authorities lacked credibil-
— Venezuela’s Supreme diplomats, came in re- The main opposition coali- position volunteers man- ity. Specifically, the outside
Court has backed President sponse a request by Mad- tion has accused Maduro aged to collect copies of experts noted that authori-
Nicolas Maduro’s claims uro to review vote totals of trying to steal the vote. voting tallies from 80% of ties didn’t release a break-
that he won last month’s showing he had won by Thanks to a superb ground the 30,000 polling booths down of results by each of
presidential election and nationwide and which the 30,000 voting booths
said voting tallies published show opposition candidate nationwide, as they have in
online showing he lost by a Edmundo González won almost every previous elec-
landslide were forged. by a more than 2-to-1 mar- tion. The government has
The ruling is the latest at- gin. The official tally sheets claimed without evidence
tempt by Maduro to blunt printed by each voting that a foreign cyberattack
protests and international machine carry a QR code staged by hackers from
criticism that erupted af- that make it easy for any- North Macedonia delayed
ter the contested July 28 one to verify the results and the vote counting on elec-
vote in which the self-pro- are almost impossible to tion night and publication
claimed socialist leader replicate. The high court’s of the disaggregated re-
was seeking a third, six-year ruling certifying the results sults.
term. contradicts the findings of González was the only one
The high court is packed experts from the United Na- of 10 candidates who did
with Maduro loyalists and tions and the Carter Cen- not participate in the Su-
has almost never ruled Supreme Court President Caryslia Rodriguez speaks at the ter who were invited to preme Court’s audit, a fact
against the government. Court which is performing an audit of the disputed results of the observe the election and noted by the justices, who
Its decision, read Thursday presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Aug. 22, which both determined in their ruling accused him
in an event attended by 2024. the results announced by of trying to spread panic.q
Associated Press