Politics- Haitian officials have described Christian Sanon as the mastermind of President Moïse's assassination.
- But friends and family of the Florida-based doctor say they believe he was duped.
- "It's obvious he's being framed," Sanon's brother Joseph told DailyMail.com.
Friends and family of the Florida-based doctor accused of masterminding Haitian President
Christian Emmanuel Sanon, who has lived in the US since the 1970s, is currently in custody in connection to Moïse's killing, according to DailyMail.com. He is a licensed physician in
Haiti's National Police chief, Léon Charles, described Sanon as one of the assassination's masterminds, saying he hired a crew of Colombians to carry out the hit so he could steal the presidency.
Archived webpages show that Sanon was interested in political change in Haiti and becoming a leader for the nation. But the AP reported that he was unknown in political circles in the Caribbean nation.
Associates suggested to the AP that Sanon was duped into the plot, and wouldn't have been involved in anything that involved violence.
'Completely gullible'
A friend of Sanon in Florida, who spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity, said Sanon once mentioned being approached by people claiming to represent the US State and Justice Departments who wanted to install him as president.
A spokesperson for the State Department said the claim was false. The Justice Department has not responded to Insider's request for comment.
The friend told the AP that Sanon believed the plan was for Moïse to be arrested, and said Sanon would not have participated in an assassination.
The friend said he recently attended a presentation in Florida on rebuilding Haiti with Sanon and about a dozen other people, including members of CTU Security. CTU is a Miami company that some of the suspects said they were hired by, as the Miami Herald previously reported.
The Haitian police chief, Léon Charles, said on Sunday that he believes Sanon traveled to Haiti on a private jet in early June with "political objectives," and that some of the men involved in the killing had accompanied him.
Sanon's friend told the AP that the doctor had asked why the security team accompanying him to Haiti were all Colombian, and that he was told that Haitians couldn't be trusted and that the country's system was corrupt, the AP reported.
The friend added that Sanon "is completely gullible" and "thinks God is going to save everything," according to the AP.
'It's obvious he's being framed'
Rev. Larry Caldwell, a Florida pastor who once worked with Sanon to set up churches and medical clinics in Haiti, told the AP that he doesn't believe Sanon would be involved in a violent plot.
"I know the character of the man," Caldwell said. "You take a man like that and you're then going to say he participated in a brutal crime of murder, knowing that being associated with that would send him to the pits of hell? ... If there was one man who would be willing to stand in the breach to help his country, it would be Christian."
Sanon's brother, Joseph, echoed these sentiments in an interview with DailyMail.com.
"It's obvious he's being framed," Joseph Sanon told the outlet.
Joseph told DailyMail.com that he knew his brother was in Haiti to enact political change but said he was not a violent man.
"It would be good for the truth to come out. It would be good for there to be more information to know exactly what's going on," Joseph Sanon told DailyMail.com.
"We are praying, asking the lord to show us. I want to know the truth. I'm desperate to know it."