A Miami court has sentenced a former US government informant to life for his part in the killing of Haiti’s former leader Jovenel Moise.
Joseph Vincent, a Haitian-American and former informant for the US government, received a life sentence for his involvement in the killing of Haiti’s ex-president Jovenel Moise.
He confessed to participating in the plot to assassinate the president two months before his sentencing in a Miami court, where he asked the judge for forgiveness.
Moise died from gunshot wounds at his residence in Port-au-Prince in 2021.
Vincent, who had worked for the US Drug Enforcement Administration, was the fourth of 11 defendants to get a life sentence in the Miami federal case for his support role in the murder scheme.
The case was tried in Florida because the US justice department decided that it had jurisdiction over it – since some of the plot was planned in south Florida.
Vincent, who will be imprisoned in a Florida jail, acknowledged that he had talked about the assassination plan and went with his co-conspirators to Mr Moise’s home in July 2021.
His role consisted of giving his accomplices guidance on Haitian politics, meeting with local political and community leaders and inciting protests against Moise as a way to topple him, according to the AFP.
It is thought that during those meetings, Vincent wore a US State Department pin to make others think he worked for Washington. But the DEA said Vincent was not acting on its behalf.
Haiti’s envoy to the US, Bocchit Edmond, said there was “no chance” US drugs agents executed the attack. At the time of Moise’s death, the envoy said he thought it was the work of “professional mercenaries”.
Court records show that the operation initially aimed to abduct the late president, but later turned into a full-blown assassination.
On Friday, another suspect, Frederick Joseph Bergmann Jr. admitted to providing false or misleading export information. He has been accused of smuggling ballistic vests as part of the plot.
Colombian ex-soldiers and businessmen are also among those accused of helping provide funds or weapons, and carrying out the attack.
Haiti has detained 17 people for the murder of President Moise, according to the Miami Herald, but none of them have been officially charged.
The Caribbean nation has been without a president since Mr Moise’s assassination.
Since then, the nation has descended into political turmoil and experienced unprecedented levels of gang violence.
On Friday, the United Nations said January was the most violent month in the nation in over two years, with some 1,100 people either killed, injured or kidnapped in the month.
