Suspect in Haitian president’s assassination accepts plea deal in Florida
By Alta Spells, Sara Weisfeldt and Zoe Sottile, CNN
A suspect in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who was killed in his bedroom in July of 2021, accepted a plea agreement from US federal prosecutors on Friday.
Rodolphe Jaar pleaded guilty in US federal court to three counts involving providing material support including personnel and services in a conspiracy to kidnap and kill Moise, according to the plea agreement.
As part of the deal, Jaar has agreed to be sentenced by a judge. The maximum sentence for each of the three counts is life in prison.
In exchange for the deal, Jaar must provide truthful testimony, produce documents and records, and appear before a grand jury and at other legal proceedings when called upon by federal prosecutors. He also agreed that he “will not protect any person or entity through false information or omission, that he will not falsely implicate any person or entity, and that he will not commit any further crimes.”
In accepting the plea deal, he also waived his rights to appeal any sentence imposed.
The plea deal can be revoked if Jaar is found to have misrepresented any facts or commits any misconduct after entering into the deal, according to the agreement.
Jaar, who is from Haiti, was one of several suspects who were at large during the months after Moise’s assassination, CNN previously reported. He was arrested in the Dominican Republic and extradited to the United States in January 2022.
Jaar’s sentencing is scheduled for June 2, 2023.
Authorities have said that dozens of people were involved in Moise’s death, including 26 Colombians and two Haitian Americans. Colombian suspect Mario Palacios was extradited just weeks before Jaar.
Jaar provided funds that were used to acquire weapons, provided food and lodging to other co-conspirators, and provided funding to bribe Haitian officials responsible for Moise’s security, according to a proffer tied to the plea agreement.
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