Haitian president was preparing drug trafficking report before assassination

Late Haitian President Jovenel Moise was preparing to deliver a list of names to the U.S. government of politicians and businessmen linked to the drug trade before he was assassinated, the New York Times recently reported.   

Moise was killed on July 7 when a group of armed men raided his home in the Pelerin 5 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. Haitian authorities reported that the group was made up mostly of foreign mercenaries, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian-Americans. So far, police have arrested 45 people but none have yet been charged with the crime.

Some of those captured, however, confessed that retrieving the list of names of those involved with drug-related crimes was a top priority, the Times reported.

"The document was part of a broader series of clashes Mr. Moise had with powerful political and business figures, some suspected of narcotics and arms trafficking," the Times wrote.

In June, police chief Léon Charles told the press that Haitian national Christian Emmanuel Sanon may have hired 26 of the 28-strong hit squad through a Miami-based company called CTU, run by Venezuelan national Tony Intriago -- adding that the 63-year-old doctor, who resides in Florida, arrived in Haiti on a private jet in early June with "political motives."

Moise's murder left a power vacuum in Haiti and fueled a wave of violent crime and kidnappings by gangs that now control a large portion of the country.

Although the government has promised to continue investigating Moise’s murder, judicial officials have also reported intimidation and death threats.