Following the Haiti Story

 I don't follow Fox News though they led with a story on Google News.

"Haitian authorities identified the suspect as Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 62, who once expressed a desire to lead his country in a YouTube video. However, he is unknown in Haitian political circles, and associates suggested he was duped by those really behind the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in an attack last week that critically wounded his wife, Martine, who remains hospitalized in Miami.

A Florida friend of Sanon told The Associated Press that the suspect is an evangelical Christian pastor and a licensed physician in Haiti, but not in the U.S. The associate, who spoke on condition of anonymity out of safety concerns, said Sanon told him he was approached by people claiming to represent the U.S. State and Justice departments who wanted to install him as president."

https://www.foxnews.com/world/florida-suspect-in-haiti-president-killing-deepens-mystery

"Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 63, is the latest suspect linked to the assassination of Moïse, who was brutally murdered at his home last week. Dozens of people have been implicated and arrested in the days following the assassination, but, on Sunday, Haitian authorities publicly named Sanon as the leadership figure in an alleged attempted coup.

However, there are significant gaps in the official version of events.

"[Sanon] arrived by private plane in June with political objectives and contacted a private security firm to recruit the people who committed this act," Haiti's national police chief, Léon Charles, said Sunday.

The police chief named a shadowy private Venezuelan security company based in Florida called CTU as the firm Sanon worked with, but Charles didn't offer any explanation for how an obscure self-described doctor—who filed for bankruptcy in Tampa in 2013—could have feasibly led a complex and expensive plot to take over the Haitian government.

There are some signs that Sanon may have set his sights on power. The Washington Post resurfaced a YouTube video from 2011 titled "Dr. Christian Sanon—Leadership for Haiti," which puts forward the doctor as a potential new leader. There was also a website called "Haiti Lives Matter" which reportedly said Sanon should lead a new coalition."

https://www.thedailybeast.com/christian-emmanuel-sanon-mystery-florida-based-doctor-accused-of-plotting-haiti-assassination

'Haitian Officials Say U.S.-Based Suspect in President's Killing Was Seeking Power

Last Updated July 13, 2021, 8:17 a.m. ET1 hour ago

1 hour ago

The national police chief indicated that he believes a Florida-based doctor, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, was plotting to assume the presidency. The U.S. dispatched a team to assist in the investigation."

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/07/12/world/jovenel-moise-assassinated

There doesn't appear to be any U.S. government sponsorship for the President of Haiti's assassination.

• The U.S. is sending FBI and DHS officials to Port-au-Prince as soon as possible, the White House said.
• The U.S. has no plans to send military assistance at this time; White House officials told NBC News.
• The State Department told CNBC that it was aware of the arrest of two U.S. citizens in Haiti and is "monitoring the situation closely."
• Gunmen assassinated Jovenel Moise and wounded his wife in their private residence Wednesday, plunging the Caribbean nation into political crisis.

Pawns

What To Do About Haiti

News Update: "A prominent Haitian doctor with long-standing ties to South Florida has been implicated in last week’s brazen assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise." the New York Post reported. 

There are problems with this report. First, the doctor was not "prominent" as a medical doctor because his credentials are challenged. Second, he was bankrupt. Third, he claimed to be a minister to a "religious" organization. 

If he and several other Haitian immigrants are behind the assassination, then who paid for it?

"Christian Emmanuel Sanon, who has lived in the Sunshine state on and off for more than 20 years, is suspected of being one of the ring leaders of the hit squad that killed Moise, the Miami Herald said."

Did US Homeland Security have knowledge about Sanon? Was the FBI watching? If not, why not?

The original post follows:

My Dad loved visiting Haiti, where he did some paintings. He's gone now, but I wonder what he would think of American foreign policy toward Haiti today?

Situation: A band of insurgent terrorists from Columbia assassinated Haiti's President, whose popularity waned from his apparent corruption. If that happened in the U.S., it would be considered an act of war by Columbia, a world center for illegal drug smuggling.

Haiti is the crossroad for shipping drugs to the U.S. and Europe. Since the U.S. is "at war" on drugs and smuggling, it has a vested interest in stopping the trafficking of drugs and human trafficking and abuse rampant in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.

Haiti has 11 million people, incredibly overpopulated, where it is 95% black. While tourism has been a bright spot in the past, it is dead when there is no government and widespread lawlessness and insecurity.

The literacy rate in Haiti is among the world's worst.

Foreign Policy: American foreign policy is grossly under-invested in Haiti. The Obama administration had nice words and intentions and failed miserably. After that, it got worse when the Trump administration continued to ignore Haiti's needs as it also ignored poor Americans. Suspected is that Trump's policies were racist.

One might believe that the "CIA World Factbook, Haiti" might shed some light. (https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/haiti)

The government is a "semi-presidential republic" with too many political parties, making it unworkable under a flawed constitution.

The military is too weak and underfunded to defend the nation.

One Wiki statement, shown below that is out of date despite America's cheap approach to Haiti.

"The U.S. has been Haiti's largest donor since 1973. Between F.Y. 1995 and F.Y. 2003, the U.S. contributed more than $850 million in assistance to Haiti. Since 2004, the U.S. has provided over $600 million for improving governance, security, the rule of law, economic recovery, and critical human needs."

Foreign Policy Suggestions: 

1. Intervene with U.N. and allies to assist in stabilizing the government
2. Invest in educating the children
3. Invest in engineering a sustainable economy
4. Invest in protecting the island from natural disasters: earthquakes and hurricanes
5. Invest in developing the military and homeland security
6. Provide allied defense against intrusions from foreign adversaries such as Columbia
   
   
   
   
   
   

CIA World Factbook, Haiti

The Case Against Voter Suppression

I am writing this intending to share it with my elected representatives and with having little hope that it will make a difference. However, the rule of law and a citizen's responsibility is to make a case for what is right under the US Constitution.

If I were prosecuting a case against Republican states and their legislators, who are hell-bent on passing restrictive voting laws that make it harder on voters, I would start here.

First, what is the motivation for passing more restrictive voter laws and regulations?

Answer: Republicans say that they are combatting voter fraud and abuse in the election process. Factually, there is no widespread fraud and abuse, even when states have expended millions of dollars and effort to support their notion. That means their persistence is driven by what? Racism and political unfairness undermine equality.

Second, what can be done in the courts to address Republican voter suppression?

Answer: Court action is essential to argue that Republican motivation is not what they state and that their contrivance and legislation restrict voters unfairly and undermine free elections and democracy. The court must strike them down before the next election cycle, and the cases against them prosecuted at once.

End Voter Suppression