Haitian police arrested eleven people at the Taiwanese embassy on Friday.

They would have participated in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, shot dead by an armed commando in his residence on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in Port-au-Prince. 

Taiwan announced Friday that 11 suspects wanted in the investigation into the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse had broken into the perimeter of its embassy in Port-au-Prince, before being arrested by the Haitian police.

Taiwanese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the embassy was closed on Wednesday "for security reasons" following the murder.

"At dawn on 8 (July), the security of the embassy discovered that a group of armed men had broken into the courtyard of the embassy," she told AFP. .

"Security personnel immediately informed Embassy staff and Haitian police."

"The operation was carried out smoothly"

"At the request of the Haitian government, and in order to assist in the arrest of the suspects, the embassy gave the Haitian police permission to enter the perimeter of the embassy."

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In a statement posted on its website, the Taiwanese embassy in Port-au-Prince described the men as "mercenaries" and suspects in the assassination.

"The police launched an operation around 4 p.m. (8 p.m. GMT Thursday) and managed to arrest 11 suspects," the embassy said in its statement. 

"The operation was carried out smoothly", continues the embassy, ​​also qualifying the assassination as "cruel and barbaric".

The Taiwanese Embassy in Haiti is located not far from the residence where Jovenel Moïse was assassinated.

One of the only countries in the world to recognize Taiwan

Haiti is one of 15 countries in the world that continues to diplomatically recognize Taiwan, rather than the People's Republic of China.

The latter still considers Taiwan as a part of its territory which is destined to return to its fold, even if the island has followed its own destiny since 1949.

Relations deteriorated with the arrival in power in Taiwan in 2016 of President Tsai Ing-wen, from a party traditionally hostile to Beijing. The Chinese government continues to work for Taiwan's international isolation, relentlessly trying to attract the island's last diplomatic allies.