Colombians accused in Haiti assassination were once trained by the US military, Pentagon says

• A "small number" of Colombians detained in the assassination of Haiti's president received US military training, the Pentagon told The Washington Post.
• They received the training while they were active members of the Colombian Military Forces, the Pentagon said.
• It's unclear when the training took place or how many of the suspects took part in it.

A "small number" of Colombians detained in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse had previously received US military training, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

"A review of our training databases indicates that a small number of the Colombian individuals detained as part of this investigation had participated in past US military training and education programs, while serving as active members of the Colombian Military Forces," Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Ken Hoffman told Insider.

News of the trainings was first reported on by The Washington Post.

It's unclear how many Colombians had the training as well as when the training to place, though Hoffman told Insider that thousands of military members in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean have had training and education from the US military over the last several decades.

"This training emphasizes and promotes respect for human rights, compliance with the rule of law, and militaries subordinate to democratically elected civilian leadership," he said.

Hoffman said that the Pentagon is reviewing its training databases.

Haitian police have said that 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans are among the suspects in Moïse's assassination.