A man accused of helping to plan the assassination of President Jovenel Moise was arrested, Haitian authorities announced on Sunday.
Moise was killed in his Port-au-Prince home on Wednesday, in an attack that has shaken the country already rattled by rampant violence and political instability.
The arrested suspect, 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, entered the country on a private jet in June, Police Chief Leon Charles said.
It’s not known what Sanon will be charged with, or what his motives may have been. He said he arrived with “political intentions.”
Sanon allegedly worked with a Florida-based Venezuelan security firm to recruit 26 Colombian mercenaries and two Haitian-Americans. Their first assignment was to provide security for Sanon, but is believed to have evolved over time
Police said they received information on the operation from the detained Colombians.
After the assassination, Sanon was the first person one of the alleged assassins called, said the police chief.
Upon raiding Sanon’s house, police said they found 20 boxes of 12 and 9 millimeter caliber ammunition, rifle and pistol holsters, 24 unused shooting targets, a cap labeled “DEA,” two vehicles, and four Dominican Republic license plates.
Police said they also found correspondence with “different sectors in the country” but did not specify who or what.
It is not yet clear if Sanon, who police said was born in Marigot, Haiti, has retained legal representation to address potential charges, and he has yet to publicly comment on the allegations.
Charles said the Haitian police are working with intelligence authorities in the Colombian government to trace how the mercenaries got to Haiti, who they were working with in Colombia, and who financed the operation.