Voltaire ordered the preventive detention of the Jacmel mayor after questioning him, interim director Jimmy Jean Baptiste’s lawyer said, without giving details of the reasons for the detention.
According to the media, James Solage, one of the Haitian-Americans arrested over the file, assured the court that the officer put him in touch with Pastor Emmanuel Sanon, who according to the investigation was one of the main leaders of the attack.
Sanon reportedly confirmed the allegations, adding that the mayor had ties to Walter Veintenilla, an Ecuadorian businessman who was allegedly one of the financiers of the plot.
This is the first arrest ordered by Voltaire, the fifth judge to investigate the July 7, 2021 assassination attempt that seriously injured the then First Lady Martine Étienne.
In the United States, where about 11 suspects were arrested, Sanon and Solage were accused of being involved in the conspiracy. If convicted, they face life imprisonment.
At least 40 people remain imprisoned in Haiti, including former Colombian soldiers accused of committing the crime, security police and presidential guard chiefs, and other suspected accomplices.
In the coming days, Judge Voltaire will also have to question former Justice Minister Rockfeller Vincent and the former director of the National Police and current representative of Haiti to the Organization of American States, León Charles.
npg/ane