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
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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.



Russia Declares 72-Hour Ceasefire in Ukraine for Next Week to Mark Victory Day in World War II

Ukrainian servicemen of the Skala regiment artillery unit fire an M109 howitzer toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed area, in the eastern Donetsk region, on April 23, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Ukrainian servicemen of the Skala regiment artillery unit fire an M109 howitzer toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed area, in the eastern Donetsk region, on April 23, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russia Declares 72-Hour Ceasefire in Ukraine for Next Week to Mark Victory Day in World War II

Ukrainian servicemen of the Skala regiment artillery unit fire an M109 howitzer toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed area, in the eastern Donetsk region, on April 23, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
Ukrainian servicemen of the Skala regiment artillery unit fire an M109 howitzer toward Russian positions, in an undisclosed area, in the eastern Donetsk region, on April 23, 2025, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared a unilateral 72-hour ceasefire next week in Ukraine to mark Victory Day in World War II as the US presses for a deal to end the 3-year-old war. Kyiv insisted on a longer and immediate truce.

The Kremlin said the truce, ordered on “humanitarian grounds,” will run from the start of May 8 and last through the end of May 10 to mark Moscow's defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 — Russia's biggest secular holiday. That timing translates to start at 2100 GMT, or 5 p.m. EDT, on May 7, lasting until 2100 GMT, or 5 p.m. EDT on May 10.

Ukraine, which has previously agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal of a full 30-day ceasefire, dismissed Putin's move as window dressing.

“If Russia truly wants peace, it must cease fire immediately,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said, according to the ministry. He emphasized that Kyiv is ready for a “lasting, reliable, and complete ceasefire” for at least 30 full days.

“Why wait for May 8? If we can cease fire now from any date and for 30 days — so that it is real, and not just for a parade,” he said without specifying whether Ukraine would be ready to accept the Moscow-proposed truce.

The Kremlin had urged Ukraine to follow suit.

“Russia believes that the Ukrainian side should follow this example,” it said, warning that “in case of violations of the ceasefire by the Ukrainian side, the Russian armed forces will give an adequate and efficient response.”

Putin previously announced a unilateral 30-hour Easter ceasefire and Ukraine voiced readiness to reciprocate any genuine truce at the time, but it said Russian attacks continued. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine of failing to halt its attacks.

Russia and Ukraine had also earlier pledged to observe a 30-day halt on strikes on energy infrastructure that was brokered by the Trump administration, but they repeatedly accused each other of massive violations until the measure expired.

The truce attempts underlined the massive challenges for monitoring any possible halt to hostilities along the more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) line of contact.

Up until now, Putin had refused to accept a complete unconditional ceasefire, linking it to a halt in Western arms supplies to Ukraine and Ukraine’s mobilization effort.

The Kremlin reaffirmed that “the Russian side again declares its readiness for peace talks without preconditions aimed at removing the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis and constructive cooperation with international partners.”

Just before the ceasefire announcement, Ukraine and Russia targeted each other with long-range strikes.

Russia's drone attack early Monday damaged an infrastructure facility in Cherkasy, central Ukraine, disrupting gas supplies to households in the city, Mayor Anatolii Bondarenko said.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces downed 119 Ukrainian drones overnight, most of them over Russia’s Bryansk border region. In Ukraine, air raid sirens rang out across the country Monday morning. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

Rubio says this week is ‘very critical’

The outcome of a push by Trump’s administration to swiftly end the fighting, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, remains unclear, clouded by conflicting claims and doubts about how far each side might be willing to compromise amid deep hostility and mistrust.

The clock is ticking on Washington’s engagement in efforts to resolve Europe’s biggest conflict since World War II.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Sunday that this week would be “very critical.” The US needs to “make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

American military aid has been crucial for Ukraine’s war effort, and further help could be at risk if the Trump administration walks away from attempts to end the war.

Trump said over the weekend he harbors doubts about Putin’s sincerity in pursuing a deal, as Russian forces have continued to strike civilian areas of Ukraine with cruise and ballistic missiles while the talks have proceeded.

But on Friday, Trump described a brokered settlement on the war as “close.”

Western European officials have accused the Kremlin of dragging its feet on peace talks so that Russia's larger forces, which have battlefield momentum, can seize more Ukrainian land.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed the war in a phone call Sunday with Rubio, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. They focused on “consolidating the emerging prerequisites for starting negotiations,” the statement said, without elaborating.

Russia has effectively rejected a US proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting by imposing far-reaching conditions. Ukraine has accepted it, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says.

A French diplomatic official said over the weekend that Trump, Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed “to pursue in the coming days the work of convergence” to obtain “a solid ceasefire.”

The diplomat said a truce is a “prior condition for a peace negotiation that respects the interest of Ukraine and the Europeans.”

The official was not authorized to be publicly identified in accordance with French presidential policy.

Ukraine unwilling to give up land

Ukraine, meanwhile, has balked at surrendering land to Russia in return for peace, which Washington has indicated could be necessary.

A key point of leverage for Ukraine could be a deal with Washington that grants access to Ukraine’s critical mineral wealth.

Ukraine and the US have made progress on a mineral agreement, with both sides agreeing that American aid provided so far to Kyiv will not be taken into account under the terms of the deal, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Sunday.

“We have good progress,” he said after talks with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Washington.

“The main thing is that we clearly defined our red lines: The agreement must comply with Ukraine’s Constitution, legislation, and European commitments, and must be ratified by Parliament,” Shmyhal said.

Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022 has developed a significant international dimension, further complicating negotiations.

Putin on Monday thanked North Korea for sending what the US estimates are thousands of troops to help defeat Ukraine, as well as allegedly supplying artillery ammunition.

Iran has also helped Russia in the war, with Shahed drones, and China has sold Russia machinery and microelectronics that Moscow can use to make weapons, Western officials say.

The US and Europe have been Kyiv's biggest backers.