(Miami) A former Colombian soldier pleaded guilty Friday before American federal justice to conspiracy to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, shot dead in 2021 in Port-au-Prince.
Mario Antonio Palacios, 45, pleaded guilty in Miami federal court after entering into a cooperation agreement with the prosecution.
Until this agreement to plead guilty, he had denied for months having had the slightest role in the assassination of the former president.
On July 7, 2021, Jovenel Moïse was shot and killed in his private residence at the age of 53, by a commando of more than 20 people, mainly Colombian mercenaries, without his guards intervening.
According to the indictment, Mr. Palacios entered the president’s house with the mercenaries and stole money and jewelry.
The prosecution, however, considers that the accused played only a minor role in the conspiracy and that he had no decision-making power within the group.
His lawyer, Alfredo Izaguirre, presented him as a simple bodyguard and said he was convinced that his client could avoid the maximum sentence, namely life in prison. The sentence will be handed down on 1er March 2024.
American justice declared itself competent in this case, in which 11 people were arrested and charged, because part of the assassination plan was hatched in South Florida.
So far, three people have been sentenced to life imprisonment in this case, the former Haitian senator Joseph Joel John, a businessman of Haitian and Chilean nationality, Rodolphe Jaar, and a retired Colombian soldier.
The operation initially aimed to kidnap the president but evolved into an assassination, according to court documents.
The death of Jovenel Moïse plunged Haiti further into chaos, as the small Caribbean state was already plagued by gang violence. The latter now control 80% of the capital Port-au-Prince, and the number of serious crimes has reached records, according to the UN representative in the country.