US Authorities Charge Former Colombian Military Officer In Conspiracy To Kill Haitian President Jovenel Moise

JAKARTA - United States authorities on Tuesday charged a Colombian man with conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States in connection with the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, the first official charge in this crime.

Haitian authorities have arrested dozens of people after the July killings left a political vacuum in the Caribbean nation. However, to date, no prosecution has been made against anyone, with the investigation drawing complaints about delays and intimidation of officials.

The US Justice Department said in a statement that Mario Palacios, a former Colombian military officer, was part of a conspiracy that was first planned to kidnap Moise but developed into an assassination plot after the conspirators were unable to locate the plane to take the president out of Haiti.

"The statement of the complaint alleges that, on July 7, 2021, Palacios and others entered the presidential residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of assassinating President Moise, and in fact, the president was killed", the Justice Department said in a statement citing Reuters on January 5.

Palacios was also charged with "providing material support resulting in death."

One of the members of the conspiracy, a Haitian-American man described as "Co-conspirator #1", traveled to the United States in late June to ask for help to continue the plot, according to the statement.

Palacios on Tuesday afternoon made his first appearance in US District Court in Miami, dressed in civilian clothes with handcuffs around his wrists tied with chains around his waist.

Speaking in Spanish, Palacios told the court through an interpreter he didn't know anyone in the United States, and his only income was a Colombian military pension worth about $375 per month.

Palacios was part of a group of five known as the 'Delta Team' who entered Moise's bedroom to shoot her, according to an August report by Haiti's National Police of the murder. The other four members of the group are in Haitian custody.

"Prime Minister Ariel Henry wants justice to be served in the heinous murder of Jovenel Moise", a spokesman for the prime minister's office said when asked earlier about the arrests.

To note, Palacios was detained in Jamaica in October and deported to Colombia on Monday. During a layover in Panama, he agreed to travel to the United States instead, the US Department of Justice said.