Haitian businessman jailed for life for assassination of Haiti’s president

A federal judge in Florida on Friday sentenced a businessman and former drug trafficker of Haitian and Chilean nationality to life in prison for his role in the 2021 assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moise.

Rodolphe Jaar is the first person convicted in what federal prosecutors have described as a sprawling conspiracy to assassinate the Haitian leader and seize power, aided by Haitian officials, Colombian mercenaries and illegal arms shipments from the United States. The assassination has unraveled the already fragile Haitian government, sparking lawlessness and extreme violence as gangs have stepped into the power vacuum.

Despite pleading guilty to three conspiracy charges for his role in the murder and agreeing to testify against his co-conspirators, Miami Federal District Court Judge Jose E. Martinez gave Mr. Jaar the statutory maximum life sentence for all three counts, with return to be decided in August.

The leading role the United States has played in seeking justice for the assassination of a foreign leader demonstrates just how much Mr Moïse’s death has destabilized his country and exacerbated the chronic dysfunction of the Haitian justice system. US officials have based their investigation on their claim that much of the conspiracy was planned in South Florida and involved US citizens.

Underlining the long-standing instability of the Haitian government, the sentencing came on the same day as the State Department announced sanctions against Laurent Lamothe, a prime minister under former President Michel Martelly, over allegations that Mr. Lamothe embezzled at least $60 million from the Haitian government’s PetroCaribe investment fund for personal gain.

“Through this act of corruption and his direct involvement in the management of the fund, he abused his role as a government official and contributed to the current instability in Haiti,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in a statement.

Mr. Jaar was a major financier of the conspiracy that resulted in the death of Moise, according to an offer he submitted as part of his plea deal. Mr Jaar said he used his property – a house close to Mr Moïse’s residence – as a base of operations and provided the money to buy weapons to use in the attack. He also “provided funding to bribe certain Haitian officials responsible for providing security” for Mr Moïse, the provider said, so that the assassins could “gain access” to the president.

Moïse, 53, died after being shot 12 times in July 2021 when a squad of Spanish-speaking commandos stormed his home outside the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince.

Prosecutors say the plot against Mr Moïse evolved over time, from a daring plan to kidnap the Haitian president and flee the country by plane to the assassination that was eventually carried out. Mr Jaar was present when James Solages, a co-conspirator, announced at a meeting the night before Mr Moïse’s assassination that their mission was a “CIA operation” to assassinate the Haitian president, according to an official report .

Mr Jaar was on the run for more than six months after Mr Moïse’s death before being arrested in January 2022. He agreed to voluntarily come to the United States after being detained in the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti.

While on the run, Mr Jaar admitted in an interview with The New York Times that he had helped fund and plan the attack and revealed that others involved believed they could exert some influence over the country’s politics after the death of Mr. Moise.

In addition to Mr. Jaar, there are 10 other defendants in the sprawling Miami case, including a former Haitian senator, former Colombian soldiers, several US citizens and Mr. Solages.