The United States arrested a key suspect Tuesday in the July assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, a Colombian national, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the U.S. and with providing support for the conspiracy, according to the Department of Justice.
Palacios avoided arrest for months after the assassination and fled to Jamaica, according to the DOJ. Officials there eventually deported him, and he was extradited to Miami, Florida. His case is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the South District of Florida.
HAITIAN PRESIDENT JOVENEL MOISE ASSASSINATED AT HOME
The criminal complaint, ordered to be unsealed Tuesday, said Palacio admitted he was hired to participate in the operation. He told authorities the initial plan was to “extract” Moise from Haiti, but that plan did not go forward when the conspirators could not secure a private plane. At that point, they shifted to an assassination plot, according to the criminal complaint.
Palacios said the unnamed “Co-conspirator #1” was one of the leaders of the plot. Co-conspirator #1 has dual citizenship in Haiti and the U.S. and is in custody in Haiti, according to the DOJ. The suspect flew down to Haiti from Florida shortly before the assassination.
Prosecutors claim to have text messages, photos, witnesses, and other evidence showing his involvement, alleging Palacios and roughly 20 other Colombian citizens and Haitian-based dual Haitian American citizens traveled to the U.S. in June seeking assistance to advance the plot.
The motive behind the assassination of Moise was not made clear in court documents. One possible motive was reports the Haitian president planned to turn over a list of powerful individuals involved in Haiti’s drug trade to the U.S., a recent report from the New York Times suggested.
Moise was killed July 7 after being shot 12 times at his residence in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Then-first lady Martine Moise was also hit by the gunshots during the attack. She was treated for her injuries in Miami and survived the incident.
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If convicted, Palacios could face life in jail.
The DOJ said the FBI is investigating the case with other agencies, including the Homeland Security Investigations.
