Miami (AFP) - A US court on Tuesday sentenced a former Haitian senator to life in prison for his role in the assassination of the Caribbean country's president Jovenel Moise in 2021.
Clad in a brown prison uniform, handcuffed and with shackles around his ankles, Joseph Joel John, 52, pleaded for mercy before the verdict was announced in federal court in Miami.
John said he never intended to murder Moise but instead wanted him brought before Haitian courts for his alleged mismanagement of the country.
The plot spiraled out of control when other conspirators decided to assassinate the president John said, adding he believed that backing out at that point would have gotten him killed.
"Your honor, have mercy on me," he implored the judge, speaking in French. "I'm sorry for this heinous crime that should not have happened."
The former senator had admitted earlier to providing vehicles and other resources to support the plot, as well as meeting with several other conspirators in both Haiti and Florida, according to court documents.
John was the third person indicted over the July 2021 slaying of Moise at his residence near the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The United States has jurisdiction in the case because the plot was partly organized in Florida, home to a sizeable Haitian diaspora.
A businessman holding dual Haitian and Chilean citizenship, Rodolphe Jaar, and retired Colombian military officer German Rivera were sentenced earlier this year to life in prison for their role in Moise's assassination.
The 53-year-old Moise was gunned down on July 7, 2021 at his private residence by a hired group of about 20 military-trained Colombians. His security detail did not intervene to protect him.
Haiti has spiraled into deeper chaos since Moise's death. No election has been held and he has not been succeeded.
Gangs control around 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes such kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings continue to escalate in the impoverished nation.
Faced with this security and humanitarian crisis, the UN Security Council gave its agreement in October to send a multinational mission led by Kenya to Haiti to help the national police force. The mission is expected to begin in early 2024.
