Trial of Florida pastor accused of role in Haitian president’s assassination begins in Miami

The trial of Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 67-year-old Haitian American pastor, began Monday in the US District Court in Miami. Sanon is accused of helping orchestrate the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. The trial is opening more than five years after Moïes was shot dead at his private residence near Port-au-Prince. Sanon faces eight charges, including conspiracy to kidnap or kill a person outside the US, and could face life in prison if convicted. Sanon is said to have had political aspirations in Haiti and was recruited by the principals of the Miami-area security firm CTU Security to serve as Moïse’s successor. In exchange, once Sanon became president, he would award CTU lucrative contracts for infrastructure projects, security forces and military equipment in Haiti. Prosecutors allege the conspiracy began to take shape in April 2021, when Sanon met in South Florida with a former Haitian senator and several US businessmen to discuss regime change in Haiti. They allege that CTU Security then recruited approximately 20 Colombian nationals with military training to carry out the assassination. Moïse was killed at his private residence in the early hours of July 7, 2021. Sanon has been held in detention since Haitian authorities arrested him days after the assassination and later transferred him to US custody under additional charges filed in February 2023. The DOJ has charged dozens of people with crimes related to the assassination, with several already convicted and serving life sentences. Haiti has not had an elected president since Moïse’s death. In the aftermath of Moïse’s demise, Amnesty International noted that Haiti faced a severe political power vacuum, which has been weaponized by armed groups to expand their control over local communities. In 2023, the Wilson Center reported that armed groups had successfully seized control of over 80% of Port-au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti, stating that sexual violence and internal displacement were also on the rise. Moïse’s wife, former First Lady of Haiti, Martine Marie Etienne Joseph, who was shot during the attack, took the witness stand during the trial, testifying against the defendants.