Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian doctor with long-standing ties to South Florida has been implicated in last Wednesday’s assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Sanon, who has lived in Florida on and off for more than 20 years, is suspected of being one of the ring leaders of the hit squad that killed Moise.
Sanon is the third person of Haitian descent tied to Florida to be arrested in connection with the assassination.
Miami Herald reported that two other Florida residents arrested, James Solages, 35, and Joseph Vincent, 55 have given information that the assassination was part of a plot to install Sanon as president.
Solages and Vincent reportedly gave the information to the authorities during questioning.
They said the plan wasn’t to kill Moise, but rather serve him with a 2019 arrest warrant and take him to the presidential palace, where Sanon would take his place.
In an interview Saturday, Haiti National Police Chief Leon Charles told the Herald that the plot included two Haitian-Americans and a high-profile doctor there,” but did not identify Sanon by name.
“I would say that the Haitian (doctor) recruited” the men, who in turn signed up a group of Colombian nationals for the operations, the report said.
Later on Sunday, Charles confirmed Sanon’s involvement.
The suspected killers called him after the attack and evidence was found in his flat, Charles told a news conference.
The 63-year-old doctor recently arrived in Haiti on a private plane to seize the presidency, he said.
He allegedly hired Colombian mercenaries through a private Venezuelan security firm based in Florida.
Police have said 26 Colombian mercenaries were involved in the murder overall.
Three were killed, 18 suspects were in detention and police were seeking the remaining five.
High-ranking U.S. officials who are expected to help with the investigation met with Charles on Sunday.
Moise, 53, was shot dead at his residence in Port-au-Prince in the early hours of Wednesday.
His wife Martine was seriously injured and taken to Florida for treatment.
Moise, in office since 2017, was extremely unpopular.
He was accused of corruption, links to brutal gangs and autocratic tendencies.
The impoverished Caribbean nation has been gripped by a power struggle, since his assassination.
Two men have declared themselves interim prime minister, and the Senate elected its leader Joseph Lambert to succeed Moise as president on an interim basis on Friday.
Lambert supports Ariel Henry as prime minister. Henry had been appointed as premier by Moise on Monday but interim prime minister Claude Joseph has been in charge of the government since the murder.
Presidential and legislative elections in the country are scheduled for September.
