Who is Christian Emmanuel Sanon? Suspect in Haitian presidents killing

The Haitian police arrested a
man named Christian Emmanuel Sanon on Sunday as a suspect in the assassination
of the country’s president Jovonel Moise last week.

Sanon is among several
people to have been arrested for alleged involvement in the president’s murder
and is the third Haiti-born suspect with US links.

62-year-old Sanon is a Haiti
national living in Florida. According to the Miami Herald, Sanon’s name was
mentioned by others in custody for the President’s assassination.

Also Read | Joe Biden urges Haitians to come together, says US ready to provide assistance

“The Haiti National Police
arrested him as part of their ongoing investigation into the leadership of the
group of 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans suspected of carrying out the
assassination,” the report says.

Sanon is being painted as a
key figure behind Moise’s assassination by the Haitian police, report New York
Times.    

A YouTube video of Sanon from
2011 titled ‘Leadership for Haiti’ shows the man speaking against the Haitian
government and accusing the government of stripping the country of its resources.

Also Read | Haiti asks US, UN for troops; Biden administration says no such plans

“…they’re corrupt, they’re involved in the
same movement that the whole world is trying to do” he said in the video and
also spoke about a ‘new leadership’ that has the capability of ‘changing the
way of life’ for Haitians,” Sanon is heard saying in the video.

A friend of Sanon from Florida told The
Associated Press that Sanon is an evangelical Christian pastor and a licensed
physician in Haiti, but not in the US.

Jovenel Moise became President of Haiti in 2017. On June 7, his home was broken into and he was brutally murdered by
trained gunmen who also shot at his wife and injured her.

Also Read | A look at who is in charge of Haiti after President Moise’s assassination

Moise’s wife survived
and is recuperating at a hospital. She recently posted an audio message on
Twitter announcing that she will not give up ‘Moise’s fight’.