Avellon Williams
PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI- The Justice Department announced Monday that a former Haitian senator is facing criminal charges in the United States in connection with the assassination of Jovenel Moise, Haiti’s president, last year.
Federal authorities say, Joseph Joel John, 51, was extradited to the U.S. from Jamaica on Friday and appeared before a federal magistrate judge in Miami on Monday afternoon.
According to the charges, he conspired to commit murder or kidnapping outside of the United States and provided material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that the material support would be used to prepare for or execute the murder or kidnapping.
If convicted, he could face a life sentence in prison.
As a result, John is the third person to face charges for his involvement in the assassination plot targeting Moise, who was killed by a round of gunmen at his home in July.
The president’s wife was injured in what the Haitian embassy in Washington described as a “well-coordinated attack by a heavily armed and highly trained group,” while their daughter hid in a bedroom and escaped.
Both Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, a Colombian national, and Rodolphe Jaar, 49, a dual Haitian-Chilean citizen, were arrested in January.
Federal prosecutors allege that John was involved in the plot against Moise and that he helped secure weapons and secure vehicles that were used for the attack. According to the criminal complaint unsealed in federal court in Miami, John met with co-conspirators just before the assassination, then many of them left for their mission to kill Moise.
He was also allegedly present when a dual Haitian-American citizen, who had been arrested by Haitian authorities, secured a former Haitian judge’s signature on a request for assistance to arrest and imprison Moise. The operation began as a kidnapping attempt and ended up being an assassination attempt.
