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Haiti President's Assassination: Miami Trials Resume, Pastor Sanon Faces Charges
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News18•28-09-2026, 10:00
Haiti President's Assassination: Miami Trials Resume, Pastor Sanon Faces Charges
- •Trials resume in Miami for the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, with dozens awaiting justice and a dozen already convicted, including five serving life sentences.
- •Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Florida pastor and dual Haitian-American citizen, faces eight charges, including conspiring to kidnap or kill a person outside the US, and has pleaded not guilty.
- •US prosecutors allege South Florida was central to planning and financing the plot to oust Moise and replace him, with the conspiracy beginning months before the killing.
- •The scheme involved paying mercenaries with money from US government COVID-19 relief programs and initially aimed to install Sanon as president, later shifting support to Wendelle Coq Thelot.
- •Former first lady Martine Moise testified about the attack, describing her husband's last words and the absence of security officers who were reportedly paid to abandon their posts.
Key Questions Answered
Christian Emmanuel Sanon is a Florida pastor and dual citizen who allegedly aspired to be Haiti’s president and went on trial in Miami facing eight charges, including conspiring to kidnap or kill a person outside the US.
US prosecutors stated that South Florida served as a central hub for planning and financing the conspiracy, using money obtained from US government COVID-19 pandemic relief programs to pay for mercenaries, weapons, and body armor.
Prosecutions are handled in the US because judicial proceedings in Haiti face immense difficulties, including judges resigning due to fears for their safety and gangs seizing control of the Port-au-Prince courthouse.
