MIAMI - The main suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse appeared for the first time in Miami federal court on Wednesday and agreed to be detained as the government charged them with a broad conspiracy to seize power.
The Justice Department on Tuesday indicted four men in connection with the murder and detailed a scheme that prosecutors say
involved an as-yet-unnamed former Supreme Court judge, Colombian mercenaries and an illegal arms shipment.
from United States.
Three of the men are charged with conspiracy in Moïse's murder: James Solages, 37, and Joseph Vincent, 57, both Haitian-American dual nationals, and Germán Rivera García, 44, a Colombian accused of running the group of mercenaries operating in Haiti.
The fourth, Dr. Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 65, also a dual Haitian-American national, was indicted on smuggling-related charges.
The suspects testified Wednesday before Judge Alicia M. Otazo Reyes, of the Southern District of Florida, that they were homeless and needed a lawyer, prompting her to assign a lawyer to each.
Prosecutors said
the four men, who appeared in court dressed in tan overalls and surgical masks, posed a flight risk
.
If convicted, Solages, Vincent and Rivera could be sentenced to life in prison.
Sanon faces a maximum of 20 years.
A woman holds a photo of assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse during his funeral on July 23, 2021 (Valerie Baeriswyl / AFP)
On July 7, 2021,
a group of assailants broke into Moïse's residence near Port-au-Prince (Haiti) at dawn, firing 12 shots
at him and wounding his wife.
Since then, Haiti has been in chaos, with roving gangs carrying out violence and government institutions in disarray.
The case in Haiti has been stalled, with another judge assigned to the case after others have resigned or been removed.
According to prosecutors, Solages and Sanon met in April 2021 in South Florida to discuss "regime change in Haiti"
as well as to endorse Sanon, a Haitian pastor, doctor and aspiring political candidate.
The following month, according to prosecutors, Sanon hired the necessary equipment to have his own military force in Haiti, including 20 Colombian citizens.
Rivera is accused of leading the Colombian group.
The alleged plot against Moïse evolved over time:
from a daring plan to kidnap the Haitian president and flee the country by plane to the assassination
that was finally carried out, according to a court filing.
On July 6, 2021, the day before Moïse was killed, Solages, Vincent and Rivera met with other conspirators at a house near Moïse's residence, according to the filing.
Firearms and other equipment were distributed, and Solages announced that his mission was a "CIA operation" to kill the Haitian president.
The next day,
the assassins proceeded in a convoy to Moïse's residence, falsely claiming that they were American law enforcement officers
to ensure that they were obeyed as they stormed the residence.
Three other people have also been charged in the United States in connection with Moïse's death: a Haitian government informant and businessman, Rodolphe Jaar, 49;
a former Colombian soldier, Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios;
and a former senator from Haiti, John Joël Joseph.
Prosecutors testified in court on Wednesday that the seven men will be tried in the same case.
Three of the lawyers declined to comment on the accusations, with one of them saying that he only knew about the case from reading the newspaper.
Another, Ken Swartz, who represents Vincent, said: "The charges are serious and we want to know what evidence the government has."
The defendants' appearance is scheduled for February 15, the date on which they will plead guilty.
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