Rodolphe Jaar, who pleaded guilty in March to plotting the 2021 murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, was sentenced to life in prison Friday, the Associated Press reported, setting a precedent for the 11 other defendants involved in the case who could face similar charges. Its former President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in 2021.
Jaar, a 50-year-old dual Haitian and Chilean citizen, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder or kidnap, and conspiracy to provide material support to carry out the plot to shoot and kill Moise in July 2021.
Jaar was arrested in 2022 and accused of housing 20 Colombians who are suspected of being involved in the assassination, as well as providing weapons and helping his co-conspirators hide after the murder.
Prosecutors said Jaar flew from Florida to Haiti on July 1, 2021, to participate in the assassination six days later.
A total of 10 other people besides Jaar are facing charges in the Southern District of Florida, most of whom are dual citizens or had permanent residences in Florida.
Jaar was the first of the 11 defendants in the U.S. case to plead guilty, and the other defendants are also facing potential life sentences. Jaar’s attorneys hoped his guilty plea would have helped lower his sentence to less than 30 years because he cooperated with federal authorities, but federal District Judge José E. Martínez gave him the maximum sentence.
President Moise was shot 12 times in his home in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. His wife was also shot but survived. The motive behind the assassination is still being investigated, but it is believed the initial plot was to kidnap Moise as part of a coup, and ultimately evolved to killing the president, according to the Justice Department.
In the months before his killing, Moise was facing political unrest and protests in Haiti over claims he was holding his position too long. Haiti’s laws mandate a five-year limit for presidential terms, and protests erupted in February 2021, five years after Moise’s predecessor, Michel Martelly, had stepped down. Moise argued he did not officially take office until February 2017, so he should still have another year as president.
WHAT WE DON’T KNOW
It’s unclear how many more people—if any—will be arrested in the U.S. in connection with the assassination. The most recent arrests occurred in February. Haiti has arrested more than 40 suspects, including 18 Colombians, but Haiti’s investigation has faced challenges as three judges have resigned from the case due to security concerns and a fourth was dismissed, BBC reported in February.