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Image source, EPA
Haitian police detain suspects in the murder of Jovenel Moise in July.
The United States authorities arrested a Colombian for his alleged involvement in the assassination of the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise.
Former military officer Mario Palacios appeared before a judge in Miami on Tuesday. He is the first person charged in the murder of Moise in July of last year.
In a face-to-face hearing, Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes read Palacios the two charges: conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material that resulted in death.
Handcuffed and dressed in jeans and a gray T-shirt, Palacios said he had no resources in the United States to pay for a lawyer.
The Justice Department said in a statement that Palacios, 43, along with others “participated in the plan to kidnap or assassinate the president of Haiti.”
Haitian authorities have arrested 45 people in connection with the murder, but have not formally charged anyone.
Haiti had identified Palacios as part of a group of former Colombian soldiers who participated in the assault on Moise’s presidential home.
Palacios was detained in Jamaica in October and was being deported to Colombia this Monday because, according to Jamaica, there was no clear evidence to justify his transfer to Haiti. On his way to Colombia, he was arrested by the United States at the Panama airport.
The former Colombian military man was transferred to Miami on Monday night.
After the arrest, Palacios “voluntarily accepted extradition,” a Panamanian migration official told AFP. A petition for Interpol’s arrest weighed on the ex-military man.
Three Colombians died in the July confrontation with Haitian forces and another 18 were arrested. They were part of a group of mercenaries that carried out the assault.
Despite the arrests, little is known regarding the perpetrators of the attack. Palacios might shed light on who is behind it and who are the material and intellectual authors.
On Monday, the Prime Minister of Haiti, Ariel Henry, who has served as president since Moise’s death, denounced that he himself had been the target of an assassination attempt last week.
Image source, Getty Images
Jovenel Moïse, 53, took office in 2017.
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