The group that assassinated Haitian President, Jovenel Moise, consisted of more than two dozen people, including two American citizens and retired members of the Colombian military.
Near the private residence of Moise, in the capital of Port-au-Prince, CNN describes the scene of the shootout between the police and some of the suspected assassins on Route de Kenscoff as having, “Burned-out cars, spent bullet casings, bloodstains and bullet-pocked walls”.
The latest suspect is believed to be Florida-based doctor, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, who may have plotted the assassination to assume the presidency. This surprised many because he has never been known as a prominent figure in politics.
However, Michael Plancher, a civil engineering professor at Quisqueya University in Port-au-Prince, met with the doctor a few times in the last month and said that the doctor mentioned that he feels as though he was sent by God to take over the Haitian presidency. The doctor also mentioned that the Haitian president would be resigning soon but never said why. The professor also described the doctor as seeming “a bit crazy” when he said he wanted to implement a Marshall Plan to run the country and try to make English the official language instead of French. (Source: Telephone interview on New York Times).
Joseph Sanon, the doctor’s brother, said he had not been in touch with him for a while and he had no idea what was going on. “I am desperate to know what’s happening,” he said.
When talking to a former neighbor of the doctor in Florida, Steven Bross, 65, said, “He was always trying to figure out ways to make Haiti more self-sufficient, but assassinating the president, no way.”
A YouTube video from 2011 titled “Dr. Christian Sanon — Leadership for Haiti” presents Mr. Sanon as a potential future leader of the country. In the video, he discusses how the leaders of Haiti are “corrupt plunderers of its resources''. This video shows the doctor’s interest in Haitian politics.
A Haitian-born anesthesiologist, Dr. Ludner Confident, who practices medicine in Florida, said he got to know Dr. Sanon while they were working for the Rome Foundation, a non-profit that assists people in Haiti, in which Dr. Sanon was the director.
“He is a pastor,” Dr. Confident said. “He’s a man of God, wanting to do things for Haiti.”
Dr. Confident said, “When it comes to politics, I don’t have any information about his political agenda.” They have not spoken to each other for years.
The Biden administration is currently deciding on whether to send U.S. troops to Haiti to help secure the country during this really tough time politically.
“What was not clear is what the future of political leadership looks like in the country, and it was a reminder of how vital it is for Haiti’s leaders to come together to chart a united path forward,” Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, told reporters at a briefing. “This is just the beginning of our conversations.”
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