Former Colombian soldier pleads guilty in 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president
Published:Friday | December 22, 2023 | 8:00 PM
MIAMI (AP) — A former Colombian soldier pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, which plunged the Caribbean nation into violence and political turmoil.
Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 45, pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States, during a brief hearing before federal Judge José E. Martínez.
Seated next to his attorney, Alfredo Izaguirre, Palacios answered “Yes, your honour,” in Spanish when the judge asked if he was pleading guilty.
Palacios is the fifth of 11 defendants in Miami to plead guilty in the 2021 assassination.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to cooperate with the investigation and to plead guilty.
He could get up to life in prison when he's sentenced March 1, but under the deal, prosecutors conceded that he played a minor role in the plot.
“He didn't know what he was going to get into. He wasn't part of the plan,” Izaguirre told reporters after the hearing.
“He didn't recruit anybody. He didn't make any decision making authority in regards to the conspiracy. I think the government understands.”
Moïse was shot 12 times at his private home near the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince on July 7, 2021.
He was 53.
His wife, Martine Moïse, was injured in the attack.
Three defendants have already been sentenced to life in prison in the case.
A fourth, dual Haitian American national Joseph Vincent, pleaded guilty this month and is awaiting his sentencing in February.
The trial is scheduled for May 2024, although the date has been postponed several times.
Palacios was detained in Jamaica in October 2021 and was flown to the US during a stopover in Panama while on a flight from Jamaica to Colombia.
Federal officials say they had interviewed him while he was still hiding in Jamaica.
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