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.



More than a Dozen Migrants Die as Boats Sink off Greece, Türkiye

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
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More than a Dozen Migrants Die as Boats Sink off Greece, Türkiye

A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture
A dinghy transporting dozens of refugees and migrants is pulled towards Greece's Lesbos island after being rescued by a war ship during their sea crossing between Türkiye and Greece on February 29, 2020. Aris Messinis, AFP/File picture

A boat carrying migrants from Türkiye to a nearby Greek island sank Thursday morning, leaving at least seven people dead, including three children, Greece’s coast guard said. Turkish authorities reported what appeared to be a separate sinking in the same area, with nine people dead.
The two accidents reportedly occurred several hours apart in the narrow stretch of the Aegean Sea between the Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, with both sides unaware of the other nation’s rescue efforts.
Greece's coast guard said a dinghy carrying migrants began taking on water and 23 people were rescued and the bodies of three women, two boys, one girl and one man were recovered, The AP news reported. 
The survivors were taken to a migrant camp on the island. The search and rescue operation continued into Thursday afternoon as the exact number of people who had been on board the dinghy was unclear.
Weather in the area was reported to have been good. The nationalities of those on board were not immediately known.
Separately in Türkiye, the Canakkale governor’s office said the Turkish coast guard received an emergency call for help from a migrant boat and deployed three boats and a helicopter.
The statement said that nine bodies had been recovered and the search for one missing person continued, while 25 people were rescued.
Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with many making the short but often treacherous journey from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies or other small boats. Many are unseaworthy, or set out in bad weather, and fatal accidents have been common.
The Greek government has cracked down with increased patrols at sea, and many smuggling rings have shifted their operations south, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece.
Last year, more than 54,000 people used what has become known as the eastern Mediterranean route heading to Greece, and more than 7,700 crossed Greece's small land border with Türkiye, according to figures from the UN refugee agency. There were 125 people reported dead or missing.
By March 30, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees said there had been just over 8,000 people arriving in Greece by sea and 755 by land since the start of 2025.