Jovenel Moise assassination: Another suspect in Haitian leader's murder arrested

More details regarding the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise have since surfaced since the incident back in July. Haiti’s foreign affairs minister announced that the authorities had arrested another suspect in the killing.

The Miami Herald reports that another key suspect in the assassination of Moise was recently arrested by the authorities, as confirmed by the country’s foreign affairs minister Claude Joseph. The suspect, Samir Handal, was arrested in Turkey over the weekend after flying in through a Turkish Airlines flight, according to Joseph. Handal left Turkey for Miami, where he was hiding out since fleeing from Haiti back in July when Moise was assassinated.

Handal, who is a businessman in Haiti, has been linked to a Haitian doctor based in South Florida, Christian Emmanuel Sanon. Sanon is considered by authorities as one of the “intellectual authors” behind the assassination.

Handal is the second suspect to be arrested by Haitian authorities in the past month. Handal’s arrest follows that of Mario Palacios, a former military officer from Colombia, who was arrested in Kingston, Jamaica after he surrendered. Palacios remains in Jamaican custody even as Joseph has requested for Palacios to be extradited to Haiti.

It should be noted that Jamaica has no extradition treaty with Haiti, which means that Palacios is most likely going to face deportation back to Colombia by a court order of a judge. The judge found Palacios guilty of entering the country illegally, according to the Jamaica Gleaner.

Joseph has also reached out to his counterpart in Colombia as well as the Colombian vice president to seek cooperation to have Palacios sent to Haiti, where 18 other Colombian military officers that are accused of assassinating Moise are detained.

The case remains overseen by a Haitian investigative judge, who has yet to present any formal charges to the case.

Moise was assassinated in his home back in July, while first lady Martine Moise was left injured. Mrs. Moise has rushed to the hospital for treatment shortly afterward.

Express reported back in July that Haitian police have killed four members of a group of supposed “mercenaries” suspected as responsible for Moise’s murder. Police chief Leon Charles said officers shot four people who are suspected to be responsible for the assassination. Two were arrested in Petionville, a suburb of the country’s capital of Port-au-Prince.