Haitian ex-senator pleads guilty to role in hit on president
October 11, 2023
Haitian former Senator Joseph Joel John on Tuesday pleaded guilty to three counts in a US court concerning his role in the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
John becomes the third of 11 defendants to plead guilty in the case. A judge scheduled his sentencing for December 19 this year.
The case is being tried in a US Federal Court because the plot was partly organized in Florida, which has a large Haitian diaspora.
What charges did the ex-senator face?
The former senator's proffer statement shows John pleading guilty to providing material support to the plotters.
This included rental vehicles the conspirators used, introductions to gangs whose support they were seeking, and attempts to procure weapons.
The statement also says that John was present at meetings where the assassination of the chaos-ridden Caribbean country's last president was discussed, one of which took place on the eve the July 7, 2021 killing.
What else do we know about the plot?
Two prominent suspects have already pleaded guilty in the investigation.
Last month, retired Colombian army officer German Rivera also acknowledged having provided material support. He faces sentencing later this month.
In March, dual Haitian-Chilean citizen Rodolphe Jaar pleaded guilty; he was later given a life sentence.
Moise was gunned down by a hired group of about 20 military-trained assassins in July 2021. His security detail did not intervene.
Court documents show the conspirators' initial plan was to kidnap Moise but that their goal eventually became murder.
A US inquiry found that two managers of a security company based in Miami, CTU, devised a plan to kidnap Moise and replace him with a Haitian-American, Christian Sanon, who wanted to become president of the country.
They were promised lucrative future infrastructure and security contracts in exchange for their help, according to US prosecutors. Sanon has also been indicted in the case.
Gangs in control in much of Haiti, international troops inbound
Already lawless at the time of the murder, Haiti has spiraled further out of control as violent gangs have laid claim to most of the capital Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country.
Elections have not taken place since 2016. The interim government had at one point promised them in 2023, but acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry has since said they cannot be held in the current security circumstances.
Last week, the UN Security Council approved the deployment of a Kenya-led international force to provide operational support to Haiti's national police force.
Nairobi, which eventually volunteered to lead a difficult mission, given the mistakes of past UN deployments in Haiti, says it is ready to provide up to 1,000 personnel.
However, the deployment is temporarily delayed pending a challenge in the Kenyan courts filed by an opposition politician, with a decision currently expected by October 24.
msh/jsi (AFP, Reuters)