Haiti arrests 3 policemen in connection with investigation into murder of president



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Haiti’s national police announced on Tuesday that they had arrested three police officers in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, suggesting that there may have been an infiltration of their forces before the murder.

Police named them Boni Gregoire, Clifton Hyppolite and Elie Jean Charles, but did not say what specific role they allegedly played in the plot.

As the investigation progresses, one of the biggest questions in Haiti is how the attackers could so easily have violated the president’s security details. Impatience grows as the investigation continues, with many Haitians wondering why so many key aspects of the crime remain a mystery.

The arrests came as Haiti held a ceremony on Tuesday to pay tribute to Mr. Moïse, a polarizing figure who was trapped by accusations of corruption and increasingly autocratic actions during his presidency, but whose death shocked many Haitians. The country was also ready on Tuesday to replace acting prime minister Claude Joseph with Ariel Henry, a neurosurgeon who had been appointed to the post by the president shortly before his assassination.

With the investigation on several fronts including Florida, Colombia and Haiti, the Haitian authorities have painted a picture, even vague, in which the president was killed by a team of twenty heavily armed mercenaries recruited abroad who broke into the president’s home in several vehicles. They encountered little resistance before opening fire, also injuring the president’s wife, Martine Moïse, during the attack.

Police said they have so far arrested more than two dozen people, conducted 45 interrogations and searched 13 residences, in which they discovered around 60 firearms, some of which belonged to the police. They said they also found a drone and three grenades.

Léon Charles, Haiti’s national police chief, previously said Dr Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a 63-year-old doctor and pastor who divided his time between Florida and Haiti, played a central role in the assassination , although this role remains unclear.

Harold Isaac in Port-au-Prince contributed reporting.

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