According to the Miami Herald and a person familiar with the situation, a gang of Colombians and Haitian Americans accused of assassinating Haitian President Jovenel Moise told police they were going to capture him, not kill him.
Haitian Police Arrested One of the Suspects
In a recently published article in Reuters, Haitian police announced the arrest of one of the suspected masterminds in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The suspect was accused of hiring mercenaries to assassinate Moise and replace him.
Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, came to Haiti by a private aircraft in early June, escorted by paid security guards and intended to take over as president, according to National Police Chief Leon Charles.
He did not go into detail about Sanon's motivations other than to indicate they were political, but he did claim that one of the people in prison had called him after being detained. According to Charles, Sanon then contacted two additional "intellectual authors" of the murder.
Read Also : Haitian President Jovenel Moise Killed in Assassination Attack That Left First Lady Injured, Hospitalized
Suspect Says the PLan Was to Arrest, Not To Kill
Charles said that the Haitian police have detained 18 Colombians and three Haitian Americans, including Sanon, in connection with the murder. He said that five Colombians are still on the loose and three were killed, according to the published report in National Post.
According to a news outlet, several of the 19 suspects that were arrested claimed their goal was to arrest Moise and transport him to the presidential palace. Two Haitian Americans, James Solages and Joseph Vincent, told the investigators they were interpreters for the Colombian commando squad that had an arrest warrant, according to a source close to the investigation. When they arrived, however, they discovered him dead.
A request for comment was requested from the Haitian Police authorities, but they declined to provide any. The revelation comes after rumors that several Colombians had gone to Haiti to serve as security guards, even for Moise himself, according to an article published in Channel News Asia.
Haitians Plan to Protest
Haitians in sections of the city Port-au-Prince were organizing demonstrations against the temporary prime minister and acting head of state Claude Joseph through social media this week. Other prominent leaders have questioned Joseph's legitimacy to govern the nation, threatening to deepen the instability gripping the poorest country in the Americas.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Cherizier, a former police officer known as Barbecue, one of Haiti's top gang bosses, warned on Saturday that his men will go to the streets to condemn the murder. Cherizier, the leader of the G9 gang federation, said that the "stinking bourgeoisie" colluded with police and opposition politicians to "sacrifice" Moise.
Meanwhile, photos and X-ray pictures from Moise's autopsy circulated on social media over the weekend, showing his corpse riddled with gunshot holes, a shattered skull, and other broken bones, emphasizing the brutality of the assault. However, police authorities did not confirm it.
Colombian Suspects Said they were Hired to Work in Haiti
The arrested Colombians told a news outlet that they were recruited to work in Haiti by the Miami-based CTU Security, which is managed by Venezuelan emigre Antonio Enmanuel Intriago Valera. CTU and Intriago were unable to be contacted for comment.
Furthermore, a Facebook picture of a guy in tactical gear aiming a high-powered weapon seemed to belong to Intriago's social media accounts. Ammunition, weapons, and individuals engaged in tactical training were seen in other Instagram pictures.
