Haitian-American pastor Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 65, is now indicted for conspiring to kidnap or kill President Jovenel Moïse, according to an updated indictment filed Wednesday February 14, 2024 in federal court in Miami reported by the Miami Herald.
Sanon, the Herald recalls, was already indicted on other charges, including conspiring to illegally smuggle bulletproof vests into Haiti for former Colombian soldiers, in violation of U.S. export laws. He was also accused of planning what is described as a “military expedition against a friendly nation”, violating the United States Neutrality Act.
This updated indictment by federal prosecutors in Miami reveals a turning point in the case, putting Sanon at the heart of the conspiracy that led to Moïse’s tragic death. While prosecutors and FBI agents had initially suggested that Sanon knew of the plot to arrest and overthrow the Haitian president, they had also indicated that he was unaware of the final decision by others to kill him.
Recall that on February 9, a Miami court handed down a life sentence against Joseph Vincent, a former informant for the United States Drug Control Administration (DEA), for his involvement in the assassination of Moses.
Vincent, who is the fourth among eleven defendants to be sentenced to life in prison in this case, admitted to having participated in discussions regarding the assassination plan and to having accompanied his accomplices to Moïse’s residence.
Since Sanon’s extradition from Haiti to the United States in 2023, other defendants involved in the murder have pleaded guilty and cooperated with federal authorities, providing evidence of the pastor’s involvement in the plot that was coordinated between South Florida, Haiti and Colombia, according to information from the Miami Herald.
Court documents reveal that South Florida played a central role in planning and financing the plot to overthrow President Moïse and replace him with an individual serving the political and financial interests of the conspirators, between February and July 2021 .
Moïse was tortured and murdered in his private residence in the Pétion-Ville district of Port-au-Prince on the night of July 7, 2021 by a group of mercenaries, mainly Colombian.
In addition to Joseph Vincent, former Haitian senator Joseph Joël John, Haitian-Chilean Rodolphe Jaar and former Colombian soldier Alejandro Rivera García were also sentenced to life imprisonment for their involvement in this affair.
