Suspect of orchestrating assassination of president arrested in Haiti

US elements collaborate with investigation in Haiti 2:18

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN) -

Haitian authorities have arrested a man they say helped orchestrate the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, the country's police chief announced Sunday.

They seek more suspects for the assassination of the president of Haiti 2:16

Moïse was killed at his home in Port-au-Prince on Wednesday in an attack that has rocked a country already plagued by rampant violence and political instability.

• Minute by minute: assassination of the president of Haiti;

  Colombian detainees, suspects killed and state of siege

The arrested suspect, identified as 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, entered the country on a private jet in June, Police Chief Leon Charles said at a news conference.

People cheer as a police car passes the police station where gunmen accused of being involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse were detained in Port-au-Prince on July 8.

Police did not say what Sanon would be charged with, or what his motives might have been, beyond saying that he arrived with "political intentions."

Sanon is alleged to have contacted a Florida-based Venezuelan security company to recruit 26 Colombian mercenaries and two Haitian-Americans.

His first task was to provide security for Sanon, but this mission is alleged to have evolved over time.

Police previously said that a group of at least 28 people are suspects in the killing.

At least 20 of those suspects have been detained, including two US citizens.

Three suspects were killed, while a massive manhunt of the five suspects who are still at large takes place.

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The police said they had received information about the operation from the detained Colombians.

After the murder, Sanon was the first person called by one of the alleged killers, the police chief said.

Upon raiding Sanon's home, police said they found 20 boxes of 12 and 9-millimeter ammunition, rifle and pistol holsters, 24 unused shooting targets, a cap labeled "DEA," two vehicles and four license plates. of the Dominican Republic.

This says a relative of a Colombian involved in assassination 2:10

Police said they also found correspondence with "different sectors of the country," but did not specify who or what.

It is not yet clear whether Sanon, who police say was born in Marigot, Haiti, has hired legal representation to address possible charges, and he has yet to comment publicly on the allegations.

Charles said Haitian police are working with Colombian government intelligence authorities to track how the mercenaries arrived in Haiti, who they were working with in Colombia and who financed the operation.

Authorities have described the group of suspects as "professional murderers", made up of members of the Colombian military.

But even as more details of the people who allegedly killed Moïse begin to emerge, little is known about the alleged masterminds and their motivation for the attack.

Sanon's arrest follows those of two Americans, identified by Elections Minister Mathias Pier as James Solages and Joseph Vincent, both naturalized citizens of Haiti.

The US State Department said Friday it was aware of the arrests and was assisting in the investigation at the request of Haiti.

A delegation with representatives from the State Department, the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security will be sent to Haiti, a White House official said Sunday.

US authorities are also reviewing a request from Haiti to send several hundred troops to assist in stabilization efforts, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Fox News Sunday, although he declined to "pre-empt that process."

Colombia has also assisted in security and investigation after the attack, sending a special police unit and national intelligence officials, as well as Interpol personnel attached to the Colombian National Police.

The keys to the investigation of the assassination in Haiti 3:15

Power vacuum

It was 1 am when the attackers broke into the president's private residence in Petion-Ville, a suburb of the Haitian capital, shooting Moïse 16 times, according to former Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe.

First lady Martine Moïse, who was also shot in the attack, was evacuated to intensive care at a Miami hospital.

The Caribbean nation of approximately 11 million people, many of whom live in poverty, now faces an even more uncertain future.

Moïse's death takes place in a context of extreme violence in the capital, Port-au-Prince, which has claimed the lives of many citizens in recent weeks.

Haiti was already grappling with political turmoil, a growing humanitarian crisis and a worsening COVID-19 epidemic.

The assassination also leaves a huge power vacuum in Haiti and no legal roadmap for Moïse's succession.

Its parliament is effectively missing and two men simultaneously claim to be the country's legitimate prime minister.

Haiti's Acting Prime Minister Claude Joseph at a press conference in Port-au-Prince on July 11, four days after the assassination of the country's president.

Parliament ceased to function in January 2020, when the terms of two-thirds of the 30-member Senate chamber expired, leaving only 10 senators in office.

The president of the supreme court would normally be next in line to take office on an interim basis, but he recently died of COVID-19, Judge Jean Wilner Morin, president of the national association of Haitian judges, told CNN.

Joseph made it clear that he was assuming leadership on Wednesday, when he declared a "state of siege" in Haiti, closed the country's borders and imposed martial law.

Joseph has vowed to stay in power until the presidential and legislative elections are held in September.

But he has not been confirmed by parliament, which has not met since 2020, and was in the process of being replaced by Ariel Henry, whom the president appointed on July 5, shortly before his death.

"Claude Joseph is not prime minister, he is part of my government," Henry told the Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste on Thursday.

Pierre, the elections minister, has said that Joseph would remain in office until the elections, which should take place as planned.

On Friday, the country's 10 remaining senators nominated one of them, Senator Joseph Lambert, as Haiti's interim president, a direct challenge to the current interim leadership.

But less than 24 hours later, Lambert appeared to back down, saying on Saturday his oath had been postponed without giving a new date for the event.

A woman carries her belongings at the Petion-Ville market in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 11, four days after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

United States delegation meets rival contenders

Members of the U.S. delegation met with rival contenders for the country's leadership on Sunday, according to Lambert and a source in the Joseph government.

In a tweet posted on Sunday, Lambert said he had discussed his own candidacy for the top job with the delegation, and that "they have made an appointment tonight for the next steps."

According to the government source, US representatives asked Lambert on Sunday to show patience in his quest for the presidency.

Lambert did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

CNN has reached out to the US State Department for comment on the claims by Lambert and the government source, but has received no response.

The government source also said that the delegation later met with Joseph and Henry at the US embassy in Port-au-Prince.

In their meeting with the US delegation, the two rival prime ministers were encouraged to find a way to collaborate, the source said.

Henry did not comment publicly on Sunday's meeting and did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

CNN's Helen Regan, Stefano Pozzebon and Etant Dupain contributed to this report.

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