Retired Colombian military officer sentenced to life in US for Haitian president’s assassination
A retired Colombian military officer has been handed a life sentence by a US court for his involvement in the assassination of Haiti’s president back in 2021. The United States claimed jurisdiction in the case, arguing that the conspiracy to kill President Jovenel Moise was, in part, orchestrated on US soil.
German Rivera, identified as one of the key figures in the mercenary group responsible for the fatal attack on President Moise at his residence outside Port au Prince, appeared before Judge Jose Martinez to receive his sentence. Rivera, a former captain, had pleaded guilty to his participation in the assassination plot just last month.
Dressed in prison attire and bound at his feet and wrists, Rivera refrained from addressing the court as his life sentence was pronounced. This marks the second conviction in the United States related to the assassination, which exacerbated the existing crises in Haiti, including poverty, gang violence, natural disasters, epidemics, and a fragile government.
Earlier this year in June, another member of the conspiracy, Haitian-Chilean Rodolphe Jaar, pleaded guilty and was also sentenced to life in prison. His role was linked to the supply of weapons used in the assassination.
The assassination of the 53-year-old Jovenel Moise occurred on July 7, 2021, when a group of approximately 20 trained Colombian military personnel gunned him down at his private residence. Shockingly, his security detail failed to intervene to protect him.
US Attorney Markenzy Lapointe stated in February that the motive behind the attack on President Jovenel was a quest for wealth and power. Lapointe revealed that two managers of a Miami security firm, CTU, devised a plan to kidnap Moise with the intention of replacing him with Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American citizen aspiring to become the country’s president. Sanon was also indicted in the United States.
In exchange for overthrowing Moise, the plotters were promised lucrative contracts to undertake infrastructure projects and provide security forces and military equipment in a prospective government led by Sanon. Notably, the initial plan was to kidnap Moise, but it subsequently evolved into an assassination plot, as detailed in court filings.
In Haiti, an investigation into the assassination has yet to lead to any trials or convictions. The aftermath of President Moise’s death has left Haiti in a state of deepening chaos, with no elections held and no successor named. Gangs now control approximately 80 percent of the Haitian capital, and the nation continues to grapple with rising violent crimes, including kidnappings for ransom, armed robberies, and carjackings, further exacerbating the dire situation in this impoverished Caribbean country.
