The Associated Press reports Rodolphe Jaar was arrested Friday with the assistance of the U.S. government and is being handled as a U.S. prisoner.

Santo Domingo, January 11 (RHC)-- Authorities in the Dominican Republic have detained a key suspect in the July assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.  The Associated Press reports Rodolphe Jaar was arrested Friday with the assistance of the U.S. government and is being handled as a U.S. prisoner.

Jaar, who is Haitian, had been hiding in Haiti for months and was taken into custody in the Dominican Republic.  He was previously convicted of drug trafficking and is a former informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration.

This comes as new evidence has linked Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry with a prime suspect in Moïse’s murder.  Henry and Joseph Felix Badio reportedly spoke both before and after Moïse’s killing. 

Badio is a former Haitian Justice Ministry official wanted on suspicion of organizing the attack against Moïse.  Henry claimed power following Moïse’s death.  He was appointed by Moïse shortly before he was assassinated.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti reports three more U.S. deportation flights left Laredo, Texas, Monday morning, expelling 297 Haitian asylum seekers, including 63 children.