Turkey arrests Haiti businessman implicated in president's assassination

Samir Handal considered a suspect in the July 7 assassination of Jovenel Moise

A Haitian businessman considered a suspect in the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moise has been arrested in Turkey, say authorities in Haiti.

Haitian Foreign Minister Claude Joseph wrote on Twitter that he had spoken with his Turkish counterpart about the arrest of Samir Handal, but gave no more details, including whether Haiti would seek the man's extradition.

Mr Handal has been mentioned as a suspect in the plot to kill the president, although the government has not given any specifics about his alleged involvement.

More than 40 suspects have been arrested so far in the presidential slaying, including 18 former Colombian soldiers and several Haitian police officers. Colombian authorities said the majority of its former soldiers did not know the true nature of the operation they were hired to participate in.

In October, another Colombian man was arrested in Jamaica.

Mr Moise was shot at his private home in a predawn attack in which his wife, Martine Moise, was wounded.

The presidential killing deepened the political instability in the country, which has since been trying to recover from a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that killed more than 2,200 people in Haiti’s southwestern region in mid-August, a spike in gang-related violence and a severe shortage of fuel.