Two Ex-SEALs Among Eight Contractors Arrested in Haitian Flap

In a bizarre case, three Americans and five foreign nationals were arrested in Haiti as they sat in an unmarked and untagged SUV about a block from Haiti’s Central Bank. The arrested included two ex-Navy SEALs and a former Marine as well as five other foreign nationals.

As they were approached by police officers, the police were told that the men were on a security mission. The men refused to further identify themselves and further digging from the police uncovered that the men were heavily armed and that the license plates were removed as well.

When the police discovered that the contractors were heavily armed and unwilling to identify themselves, they were taken into custody. In the vehicles police discovered, “six automatic rifles, six pistols, two professional drones and three satellite phones. They also found a telescope, backpacks, gun vests, professional tapes and documents” to include a list with names on it the Miami Herald reports.

One of the contractors allegedly claimed that they were working for the central bank, but the bank’s governor claims to have had no knowledge of them. Interestingly, their passports were not stamped with entry visas into the country. All eight contractors are currently being detained by Haitian authorities and the US consulate has been made aware of their arrest.

McKinley previously served on SEAL Team 8 before working as a security contractor. He is known for making media appearances to comment on national security issues. In 2014, McKinley took to social media to recount a story about how he had been shot in a parking lot, ostensibly by gang members before trying to chase them down but eventually deciding to seek medical attention. The local police doubted the story which they claimed did not match McKinley’s cell phone records, surveillance camera footage from a nearby fire department, or the recollections of two police officers who were parked about 65 feet away from where the alleged shooting took place.

The police charged McKinley with lying about the attack, alleging that he shot himself and was simply seeking media attention. At trial, McKinley was found not guilty. Soon after, the former SEAL changed his name from Chris Heben to Chris McKinley.

Chris Osman previously served in the Marine Corps and then on SEAL Team 3. Osman founded a tactical gear company called TAG and currently sells motorcycle equipment through his website. In 2017, Osman was sentenced to two days incarceration for an assault that took place during a road rage incident in San Diego.

Regarding the nature of the security contractor’s work in Haiti, the Miami Herald reported that one of the two vehicles they were using was, “was purchased by a former government official and sent to the care of Fritz Jean-Louis, an adviser of President Jovenel Moïse. Jean-Louis has since fled the country.”