The United States Justice Department Tuesday debunked claims by local and international media that Colombian mercenary Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, who is implicated in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, would return to his home country a free man.
Palacios was deported from Jamaica to Colombia on Monday, based on a ruling by the Supreme Court that authorities should enforce an order signed by National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang for him to be sent home after he was found guilty of illegal entry into the island.
The Colombian ex-soldier was placed on an aircraft to Colombia on Monday with a scheduled stop in Panama, after which he was expected to be flown to his home country.
But late Monday news broke that Palacios was detained in Panama and asked to “voluntarily” board a flight to the United States to face charges, confirming a Jamaica Observer report last month that the US would leapfrog Haiti and Colombia and take custody of Palacios, who was arrested here on October 11 and convicted of illegally entering the island.
On Tuesday the US Justice Department confirmed that Palacios was arrested based on a criminal complaint filed in the Southern District of Florida.
The Americans said Palacios, 43, was charged with “conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the US and providing material support resulting in death, knowing or intending that such material support would be used to prepare for or carry out the conspiracy to kill or kidnap.
“As alleged in the complaint, which was unsealed today (Tuesday), these charges relate to the July 7, 2021, assassination of the former President of Haiti, Jovenel Moïse, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
“As alleged, the defendant and others, including a group of approximately 20 other Colombian citizens and a group of Haiti-based dual Haitian-American citizens, participated in a plot to kidnap or kill the Haitian president, with one conspirator (“Co-conspirator #1”) travelling to the United States on June 28, 2021, to, among other things, provide other individuals with a written request for assistance to further the plot relating to the Haitian president,” said the Justice Department.
It added: “As alleged in the complaint, while the plot initially focused on conducting a kidnapping of the president as part of a purported arrest operation, it ultimately resulted in a plot to kill the Haitian president. The complaint affidavit alleges that, on July 7, 2021, Palacios and others entered the president’s residence in Haiti with the intent and purpose of killing President Moïse, and in fact the president was killed.
“Co-conspirator #1, a dual Haitian-American citizen, was subsequently arrested by Haitian authorities and remains in custody in Haiti. Palacios eluded arrest and travelled to Jamaica.”
The Justice Department noted that Palacios was deported from Jamaica and, during a layover in Panama, agreed to travel to the United States. He is currently in custody and appeared in court Tuesday for his initial appearance.
“If convicted of the charges in the complaint, Palacios faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factor,” noted the Justice Department.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing the case with other law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security.
Assistant US attorneys Andrea Goldbarg and Walter Norkin are prosecuting the case with assistance from National Security Division trial attorneys Frank Russo and Emma Ellenrieder.
On December 13, 2021 the Observer had reported that the US would jump over Haiti and Colombia and take custody of Palacios. He was fined $8,000 or five days in prison and ordered deported.
But before the deportation order was executed, local authorities discovered that Palacios was allegedly linked to the killing of Moïse, who was beaten and shot multiple times inside his private residence, reportedly by 28 mercenaries — 26 of them Colombians.
That sparked a diplomatic stand-off involving Jamaica, Colombia, and Haiti over which country should get custody of the alleged mercenary.
With no extradition treaty in place between Jamaica and either of the two countries, Colombian authorities argued that he should be deported to his home country, while the Haitians were adamant that he should be extradited to Port-au-Prince where a wanted bulletin had been issued for him, which claimed he had travelled to the country at least one day before the assassination of Moïse.
But early December, Observer sources indicated that the US was the most likely destination for Palacios, who was at a maximum security facility locally.
“There has been the sharing of diplomatic notes from Haiti and Colombia requesting that Palacios be turned over to them, but a formal extradition request has now come from the US and it seems he could be on his way to that country in short order,” a Government source had said.
But based on the Supreme Court ruling Jamaica had to deport Palacios to Colombia before he was shifted to the US, sparking what the Observer had described as “Checkmate”.
