Florida Doctor Detained As Suspect In Haiti President Assassination

Haitian authorities said they detained a Florida man who identified himself as a doctor following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, according to Local 10.

Sunday night (July 11), Haiti Police General Inspector Léon Charles accused 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon of being involved in the plot to kill and unseat Moïse. Officials claim the Moïse's alleged killers were protecting Sanon "as the supposed president of Haiti," but then their orders reportedly switched to "arrest the president."

That's when last Wednesday (July 7)'s grisly attack on President Moïse's home happened, leaving him dead and his wife, Martine Moïse, seriously injured. The Haitian First Lady was rushed to Miami, Florida, where she's currently hospitalized.

According to Charles, one of the suspects contacted Sanon after the president was killed. Sanon then allegedly contacted two other people believed to be the orchestrators of the assassination. The doctor did not identify the plotters nor any other suspects.

Reporters learned Sanon previously lived in Broward County, Hillsborough County on the Gulf Coast, and Kansas City, Missouri. He reportedly also filed for bankruptcy in 2013.

Local 10 said Sanon appeared in a YouTube video titled "Leadership for Haiti", calling himself a doctor and accusing Haitian leaders of corruption and stripping the country's resources.

“This is a country with resources," he said. "Nine million people can’t be in poverty when we have so much resources in the country. It’s impossible. ... The world has to stop doing what they are doing right now. We can’t take it anymore. We need new leadership that will change the way of life.”

Officials have arrested nearly two dozen people as suspects in the plot, including two other Americans: 35-year-old James Solages and 55-year-old Joseph Vincent. The investigation is ongoing.