Haitian police arrested a group of foreign nationals, including Americans, armed with semi-automatic weapons, Haitian newspapers reported on Monday, adding to uncertainty in the poor Caribbean country after more than a week of anti-government protests.
The U.S. State Department was aware that Haitian police arrested a group that included U.S. citizens, an official at the department said on Monday.
Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste reported that seven foreigners and a Haitian were in the group picked up by police on Sunday night. Police found rifles, pistols, drones and satellite phones in their vehicle, the paper said.
Other media said several of the men were U.S. citizens, one was Serbian and another from Russia.
Since Feb. 7, thousands of demonstrators have called for President Jovenel Moise to resign and for an independent probe into the whereabouts of funds from the PetroCaribe agreement, an alliance between Caribbean countries and OPEC member Venezuela.