Former Haitian senator sentenced to life in US prison for role in president’s assassination
CNN — none
A United States court on Tuesday (Dec. 19) sentenced a former Haitian senator to life in federal prison over his role in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Joseph Joel John was sentenced by the Miami federal court after he pleaded guilty in October to three charges, including conspiring to kill and kidnap a person outside the US, and providing material support and resources to carry out the plot to kill Moise. John was extradited from Jamaica in May 2022.
Moise was killed during an attack on his private residence in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. Haiti’s first lady, Martine Moise, was also shot but later recovered.
A probable cause affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint in 2022 alleges that John admitted to helping obtain vehicles and firearms in service of the plot. He also admitted to attending a meeting with co-conspirators a day before Moise was assassinated, according to an affidavit from an FBI agent.
John was the third man charged in connection to Moise’s assassination, according to the US Department of Justice. Mario Antonio Palacios and Rodolphe Jaar were both arrested and charged in 2022.
Jarr, a Haitian-Chilean national, was sentenced to life in June after an earlier guilty plea on three counts, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the US and providing material support resulting in death, according to the plea agreement.
Court records show Palacios, a Colombian national, is scheduled to appear in court later this month.
A number of Haitian American citizens and at least 20 Colombians participated in the plot, according to the Department of Justice.
Haiti has seen deepening unrest since Moise’s assassination, with the spread of gangs and a wave of violence that has swept the impoverished Caribbean nation. Moise’s successor, Prime Minister Ariel Henry, has so far struggled to staunch the violence.
Attacks carried out by gangs on rival villages have included beheadings, rapes, and kidnappings, according to a report released last month by the UN Human Rights Office and the UN Integrated Office in Haiti.
In October, the UN Security Council approved the deployment of a multinational support mission to help Haiti’s national police fight gang violence, with Kenya taking a leading role and pledging 1,000 police to the mission.
However, the announcement did not specify when the security forces would arrive in Haiti, and the deployment has been tied up by legal challenges.
Ex-Colombian Soldier Pleads Guilty in 2021 Assassination of Haiti's President
VOA News —
A former Colombian soldier pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, which plunged the Caribbean nation into violence and political turmoil.
Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 45, pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States, during a brief hearing before federal Judge Jose E. Martinez. Seated next to his attorney, Alfredo Izaguirre, Palacios answered "Yes, your honor," in Spanish when the judge asked if he was pleading guilty.
Palacios is the fifth of 11 defendants in Miami to plead guilty in the 2021 assassination.
As part of a deal with prosecutors, he agreed to cooperate with the investigation and to plead guilty. He could get up to life in prison when he's sentenced March 1, but under the deal, prosecutors conceded that he played a minor role in the plot.
"He didn't know what he was going to get into. He wasn't part of the plan," Izaguirre told reporters after the hearing. "He didn't recruit anybody. He didn't [have] any decision-making authority in regards to the conspiracy. I think the government understands."
According to prosecutors, the conspirators initially planned to kidnap the Haitian president but later decided to kill him. They say the plotters had hoped to win contracts under Moise's successor. About 20 former Colombian soldiers and several dual Haitian American citizens participated in the plot, authorities say.
National Center of Haitian Apostolate
REFLECTIONS - FOURTH SUNDAY - ADVENT A (December 24, 2023)
2 Samuel 7, 1-12; Psalm 89; Romans 16, 25-27; Luke 1, 26-38
Msgr. Pierre André Pierre
Sunday Dec 24 is the fourth Sunday of Advent. Tomorrow is Christmas. We celebrate the arrival of Jesus. We remember that he has already come in miserable conditions during the first Christmas. He came to a country oppressed by a foreign army. He continues to come to the tormented world that is ours today. He does not come to solve our immediate earthly problems but to free ourselves from the slavery of sin that diverts us from God.
This coming of God was already announced. At the time, when the Ark of the Covenant was the symbol of the presence of God in the midst of his people, King David wished for God a grand house (cf. First reading, in 2 Samuel 7, 1-12,). But God makes him understand that he does not need a grandiose temple. In the light of the Gospels, Christians will understand that the only real temple is Jesus himself. In Jesus, it is God who makes himself present in each of us.
In the second reading, (Romans 16, 25-27) the apostle Paul addresses the persecuted Christians of Rome. Despite the many trials that overwhelm them, they had to learn to trust. They must never forget that God who became a man in the person of Jesus. This good news was "brought to the knowledge of pagan peoples to lead them to the obedience of faith". In Jesus, God comes to them to get them out of the aimless life that was their own way. Following Paul and the whole Church, we give thanks to God for this wonder.
In the Gospel of this day, we have heard the narrative of the Annunciation or rather that of the vocation of Mary. The Angel Gabriel goes to her house in Nazareth. He tells her that God has chosen her to be the mother of His Son. And Marie replies freely: "I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me according to your word".
This gospel is a response to first reading. God does not want to live in a grand house. His great desire is to live in the hearts of men. He is “Emmanuel”, God with us. He wants us to become familiar with his presence and that we traveled together towards his kingdom of eternity. He invites us to be in communion of love with him and with all our brothers. It all started very humbly, in Nazareth, a small village that no one had ever heard of. Mary replied yes to the call of God. She freely agreed to be the "servant of the Lord". She served humanity by giving carrying to the world The One who came among us for the salvation of all humankind. This is the reason why we wish each other a Merry Christmas.
Caribbean Studies Association
December 2023 Edition
Message from the President
Okama Ekpe-Brook
Dear Esteemed Members,
As the 2023 year draws to a close, I want to take this opportunity to appreciate being able to serve you as your president. It has been an incredible six months of progressive accomplishments enabled through hard work together with the Executive Council, appointed members, our secretariat, working group members, volunteers, partners and our local organizing committee members in St. Lucia. As you may have been reading over the Newsletter articles of the past months, our activities since June this year have focused on preparations for a robust 48th annual conference and 50th anniversary celebrations and a plethora of major accomplishments including kickstarting our CSA Dialogue Series; monthly meetings of the Council; negotiated conference location and hotel in St. Lucia; timely launch of the abstract submission portal; launch of our first ever CSA merchandise e-commerce store; issuance of the CSA statement on the Gaza/Israel humanitarian crisis; renewal of our CSA Memorandum of Understanding with the University of the West Indies; launch of our CSA Journal; formation of ad-hoc committees and close engagement with development partners in the bilateral, multilateral, community based and civil society organizations, private sector and the academia. In all of these activities, I am very proud of the level of engagement of your elected officials on the Council in driving these accomplishments and in opening out communications with the membership. I look forward to continuing to chart the course for a renewed CSA influence on Caribbean developments and sustainability. All of these offer opportunities for strategic partnerships and transformations in this paradigm shift.
A few reminders for you during this holiday season. Please ensure to submit your individual abstracts, panels abstract, round tables and workshops. The deadline is December 31st for the submission. The St. Lucia conference is geared towards bringing us all together to have conversations and human connectivity. Use this to submit your abstract: https://www.caribbeanstudiesassociation.org/2024-csa-conference-call-for-abstracts