A businessman and former drug trafficker with dual Haitian and Chilean citizenship pleaded guilty in Florida on Friday to three charges related to his role in the assassination of former President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti, who was killed in a nighttime raid on his residence in Port-au-Prince, the capital, in July 2021.
The man, Rodolphe Jaar, provided funds to purchase weapons and allowed at least five other men charged in the plot to conduct staging for the operation at a property he owned, according to a plea agreement Mr. Jaar signed on Friday.
Mr. Jaar also provided food and lodging to the others involved, along with money to bribe the Haitian officials guarding Mr. Moïse before the group attempted to kidnap him, according to the agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. With the turmoil in Haiti, the United States has taken a leading role in investigating and prosecuting the case.
The night before the raid, when he was hosting the conspirators, Mr. Jaar was informed by James Solages, an American man who helped plan the operation, that the plan would result in Mr. Moïse’s death, court documents said.
After the assassination, Mr. Jaar was at large for more than six months before he was arrested in January.
While on the run from the authorities, Mr. Jaar admitted in an interview with The New York Times that he had helped finance and plan the attack and revealed that others involved had believed they could wield some influence over the country’s politics after Mr. Moïse’s death.
Mr. Jaar is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2. The charges carry a statutory maximum term of life imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000.
