Former Colombian soldier pleads guilty in the murder of President Moise of Haiti

Former Colombian soldier Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios pleaded guilty on Friday in a Miami court to conspiracy to assassinate the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, in 2021

Palacios acknowledged on Friday that he is guilty of several crimes in federal court in Miami, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States.

Palacios is expected to be sentenced to life in prison, two years after his arrest as one of the main suspects in the assassination, which unleashed an unprecedented wave of violence and a political crisis in Haiti.

The Colombian, 45 years old, is the fifth defendant to plead guilty for the assassination of Moïse, of a total of eleven detainees with criminal charges brought by the US justice system. .

According to the Prosecutor's Office, Palacios, who was arrested in Jamaica a few months after the assassination, is one of nearly 20 former Colombian soldiers who were recruited, along with several Haitian-Americans, to kidnap and murder Moïse.

Palacios' sentencing hearing will be held on March 1 before federal magistrate José Martínez.

President Moïse was shot 12 during a raid carried out by a military-style squad inside his home in the Haitian capital. His wife, Martine Moïse, was injured.

This same week, former Haitian senator Joseph Joël John was sentenced to life in prison in federal court in Miami for participation in that plot, and after plead guilty in October to four criminal charges.

Before Judge Martínez, John clarified at the sentencing hearing that he was involved in the plan because the idea was to arrest the former president and overthrow him, not assassinate him.

According to court documents, between February and July 2021, South Florida “served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to overthrow President Moïse and replace him with someone who would serve political and political objectives. financial interests of the conspirators”.