Police in Haiti say they need arrested a doctor they believe may be a key suspect in organising last week’s assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
They say Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 63-year-old Haitian national, flew into the country on a personal jet in early June with “political motives”.
Mr Moïse, 53, was killed at his residence on 7 July, by 28 foreign mercenaries, the police said earlier.
His wife was injured within the attack, then flown to the US for treatment.
Martine Moïse later described the instant assassins “riddled” her husband with bullets after bursting into their range in the center of the night.
She said the attack happened so quickly, her husband Jovenel was unable to “say one word”.
Change of mission
The arrest of Mr Sanon was announced at a police briefing late on Sunday within the capital Port-au-Prince.
“This is a personal who entered Haiti on a private plane with political objectives,” said Haiti’s captain Leon Charles.
He said the initial plan had been to arrest President Moïse, but “the mission then changed”. He didn’t elaborate.
“When we, the police, blocked the progress of those bandits after they committed their crime, the primary person who one among the assailants called was Christian Emmanuel Sanon,” said Mr Charles.
“He contacted two people that we concede to be the masterminds of the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.” The captain didn’t say who the opposite two people were.
American support
A delegation of senior US security and justice officials on Sunday arrived in Haiti to assess the safety situation.
The team also will meet three Haitian politicians. each of whom is said to be the country’s legitimate leader.
After the attack, Haiti’s authorities asked the US and therefore the UN to send troops to the country to guard key infrastructure.
President Joe Biden’s administration initially rejected the request – but has now decided to possess a better check out things .
Mr Moïse had been president of Haiti, the poorest nation within the Americas, since 2017. His time in office was rocky as he faced accusations of corruption and there were widespread demonstrations within the capital and other cities earlier this year.
Parliamentary elections should be held in October 2019 but disputes have delayed them, meaning Mr Moïse had been ruling by decree. He had planned to carry a referendum on the proposed constitutional changes this September.
In February this year, on the day the opposition wanted him to go away from office, Mr Moïse said an effort to kill him and overthrow the government had been foiled.
A map showing where the attack happened
It is still unclear who organised last week’s attack and with what motive. a variety of questions remain unanswered, including how the alleged assassins were ready to enter the property. Mr Moïse’s bodyguards are to be questioned later in the week .
One prominent opposition figure has openly expressed scepticism over the present version of events. Former Haitian senator Steven Benoit told local station Magik9 radio on Friday it had been “not Colombians who killed him”, but didn’t provide evidence to copy his claims.
Haitian police have said the bulk of the mercenaries was Colombian, while two were joint US nationals.