Retired sergeant Mario Antonio Palacio Palacios, a native of Quibdó, 45 years old, was sentenced today, March 1, 2024, by a federal court in Miami (Florida) to life imprisonment.
He was found guilty of conspiring with other people to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021 and had already signed an agreement with the Prosecutor’s Office, with which he promised to collaborate after denying his guilt for months.
After the assassination in Haiti, Marco Antonio fled to Jamaica, where he was arrested in October 2021 and later transferred to the United States.
In the early hours of July 7, 2021, a command of Colombian mercenaries shot dead the president of Haiti in his private residence, without his bodyguards intervening.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Palacios was at Moïse’s home that day, where he stole money and jewelry, but he had a minor role in the conspiracy and lacked the authority to make decisions in the group.
The US justice system has charged 11 people in this case, over which it has claimed jurisdiction because part of the plot was hatched in Florida.
Five people have been sentenced to life imprisonment so far: Palacios; Haitian-American Joseph Vincent; former Senator Joseph Joel John; Rodolphe Jaar, a Haitian-Chilean businessman; and Germán Rivera, a retired Colombian army officer.
The conspirators wanted to kidnap Moïse and replace him with Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American citizen; but they decided to kill the 53-year-old leader after failing to kidnap him, according to the accusation.
After months with little progress in its investigation, the Haitian justice system in February accused dozens of people for their alleged involvement in Moïse’s murder, including his wife Martine, who was injured in the attack on her husband.
The accusation, for “criminal conspiracy, armed robbery, terrorism, murder and complicity in murder”, also affects a former prime minister and a former senior police officer.
The small country, considered the poorest in America, has plunged into violent chaos since the assassination and its presidency remains vacant.
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