Head of Security of Haiti’s Presidential Palace in Police Custody

The head of security at the Haitian presidential palace has been taken into custody as part of the investigation of July 7 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

A close associate of Dimitri Herard said Herard was detained Wednesday. CNN said Herard failed to appear before a court inquiry ordered by the public prosecutor of Port-au-Prince because he had been summoned by police for questioning. Moise was killed during a predawn attack on his private residence in a wealthy suburb of the Haitian capital that also left his wife, Martine, seriously wounded. National Police Chief Leon Charles said 18 Colombians and three Haitians have been arrested in connection with the attack, including 63-year-old Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-born man based in the U.S. state of Florida who police believe is the mastermind behind the plot to kill Moise. Charles said Sanon arrived in Haiti on a private plane in early June with some of the Colombians. An official with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told VOA in an emailed statement that one of the suspects in custody was a confidential source to the agency.