First modification:
Mario Palacios was charged before a court in South Florida, in the United States. They point him out of participating in the plot and assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The Colombian would be part of the ‘Delta Team’, made up of five men who entered the president’s room and killed him.
The US authorities accused the former Colombian military officer Mario Palacios of conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States, in connection with the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, which occurred on July 7, 2021.
Palacios appeared before the United States District Court in Miami, handcuffed to a chain around his waist and dressed in civilian clothes. He told the court that he did not know anyone in the North American country and that the only income he has is the military pension he receives in Colombia for about $ 375 a month. The defendant was appointed a public defender, saying he did not have the resources to pay for one.
In addition to the murder or kidnapping charge, the Colombian was also charged with “providing material support resulting in the death” of Moïse.
The Prosecutor’s Office asked the judge in the case that Palacios continue to be detained, considering that he may escape and be a danger to the community. If convicted of the charges in the US, this former Colombian military man could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The Colombian was arrested in Jamaica last October and deported to his native country this Monday, but during a stopover in Panama, he agreed to travel to the United States, according to the United States Department of Justice.
“Prime Minister Ariel Henry wants justice to prevail in the vile murder of Jovenel Moïse,” said a spokesman for the Haitian prime minister’s office when asked about the arrest.
According to investigations by the Haitian National Police, the Colombian was part of a group of five men known as ‘Delta Team’, who entered Moïse’s room to assassinate him. The other four members of that group remain in detention by the Haitian authorities.
In addition, dozens of people were captured in Haiti after the murder, including 18 former Colombian military personnel and two Haitian-Americans allegedly responsible for the assassination. Three other Colombians died in shootings with the Central American country’s police. Authorities have yet to press charges against anyone. The officials in charge of the investigation have reported that they have been intimidated.
As the Haitian writer and political analyst Robenson Glesile explained to France 24 in Spanish, on behalf of the Haitian justice there is no work that allows to judge those responsible and, therefore, until now no one knows what really happened the night in which they killed President Moïse.
The United States Department of Justice after the investigation of the murder of Moïse
The United States Department of Justice stated in a release that Colombian Mario Palacios was part of a conspiracy that took place on US soil. From there, he is tried in Miami. According to the entity, those responsible first planned to kidnap Moïse, but when they could not find a plane to take him out of the country, they decided to assassinate him.
In the statement, the Justice Department added that “on July 7, 2021, Palacios and others entered the president’s residence in Haiti with the intention and purpose of assassinating President Moïse.”
In addition, he specified that a Haitian-American man, whom he described as “Co-conspirator # 1, traveled to the United States at the end of June to request help to promote the plot.”
There was an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Ariel Henry
The assassination of Jovenel Moïse deepened the security, political and social crisis in Haiti. The death of the former president has seen an increase in gang violence and a series of kidnappings.
In the midst of that violence, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who has been ruling the country since Moïse’s assassination, denounced an attempt on his life on January 1, during the celebrations of Haiti’s independence.
Henry’s office claimed that “bandits and terrorists” had tried to shoot the prime minister in a church in the northern city of Gonaives, where the politician was for the commemorations.
Videos circulating on social media showed Henry and his group of bodyguards running towards their vehicles as an armed group began shooting outside the cathedral. Previously, the local gang boss had threatened Henry through a publication in the media. Although the prime minister was unharmed, the crossfire left one person dead and at least two injured.
With AFP, EFE and Reuters
.