Ex-Colombian Soldier Pleads Guilty in Haiti President's Assassination

A man stands next to a portrait of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moise placed on a memorial at the city hall in Cap-Haitien, Haiti July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
A man stands next to a portrait of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moise placed on a memorial at the city hall in Cap-Haitien, Haiti July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
TT
20

Ex-Colombian Soldier Pleads Guilty in Haiti President's Assassination

A man stands next to a portrait of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moise placed on a memorial at the city hall in Cap-Haitien, Haiti July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
A man stands next to a portrait of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moise placed on a memorial at the city hall in Cap-Haitien, Haiti July 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

A former Colombian soldier pleaded guilty Friday in a US federal court to conspiracy to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moise, who was shot dead in 2021 in Port-au-Prince.

Mario Antonio Palacios, 45, pleaded guilty in a Miami federal court after entering into a cooperation agreement with prosecutors.

Until agreeing to a plea deal, he had for months denied having had any role in the assassination of the former president.

On July 7, 2021, Moise was shot and killed in his private residence at the age of 53 by a commando of more than 20 people, most of them Colombian mercenaries, as his guards failed to intervene.

According to the indictment, Palacios entered the president's house with the mercenaries and stole money and jewelry.

The prosecution, however, said he only played a minor role in the conspiracy and that he had no decision-making power within the group, AFP reported.

His lawyer, Alfredo Izaguirre, presented Palacios as a simple bodyguard and said he was sure that his client could avoid the maximum sentence of life behind bars.

The sentence will be handed down on March 1.

The US justice department has ruled that the case -- in which 11 people were arrested and charged -- falls within its jurisdiction because part of the assassination plot was hatched in south Florida.

So far, three people have been sentenced to life imprisonment in the case: former Haitian senator Joseph Joel John; a businessman of Haitian and Chilean nationality, Rodolphe Jaar; and another retired Colombian soldier.

The operation initially aimed to kidnap the president but evolved into a full-fledged assassination, according to court documents.

Moise's death plunged Haiti deeper into chaos. The Caribbean state was already prey to gang violence, but these days gangs control 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince, and the number of serious crimes has reached record levels, according to the UN representative in the country.



Turkish Prosecutors Investigate Main Opposition Leader in Crackdown

A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
TT
20

Turkish Prosecutors Investigate Main Opposition Leader in Crackdown

A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo
A person holds a placard during a rally to protest against the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as part of a corruption investigation, in Istanbul, Turkey, March 29, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

Prosecutors have opened an investigation into the leader of Türkiye's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on charges of threatening and insulting Istanbul's chief prosecutor, adding to a broad crackdown on the opposition.

The clampdown is centred on Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is President Tayyip Erdogan's main political rival and leads him in some opinion polls. The CHP's Imamoglu was jailed in March pending trial on corruption charges, which he denies, according to Reuters.

The Istanbul prosecutor's office said in a statement that it had launched the probe into CHP leader Ozgur Ozel over comments he made about the chief prosecutor at a rally in Istanbul on Wednesday, criticising the targeting of the opposition.

CHP spokesman Deniz Yucel criticised the decision to open the investigation.

"We will not succumb to this system of lawlessness that you have created," he said on X, addressing the authorities.

In another step, Türkiye's Interior Ministry dismissed three Istanbul district mayors who were arrested this week as part of the corruption investigations at the municipality, state media said on Thursday.

The ministry also removed from their posts two mayors who were arrested under the same investigations in the southern province of Adana, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. All five of these mayors are from the CHP.

Imamoglu's arrest in March triggered mass protests, economic turmoil and broad accusations of government influence over the judiciary and anti-democratic applications. The government denies the accusations and says the judiciary is independent.

Since his arrest, authorities have detained dozens of CHP members, officials from the Istanbul municipality, and other CHP-run municipalities. Access to Imamoglu's X account was also blocked in Türkiye this month.