In a groundbreaking legal outcome, a Haitian-Chilean entrepreneur and former U.S. federal government informant was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for his critical involvement in the audacious nighttime assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. This high-profile case has drawn international attention, underscoring the complexities surrounding political violence in Haiti.

Rodolphe Jaar, a convicted drug trafficker, has become the first individual to be convicted in connection with the heinous slaying that plunged Haiti deeper into chaos. Pleading guilty in March to multiple charges, including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, Jaar’s conviction marks a significant development in a case that continues to unfold.

Jaar is now among 11 defendants, including several Haitian Americans, who have been charged by U.S. prosecutors in the Southern District of Florida concerning Moïse’s assassination. Although dozens have been arrested in Haiti since the incident, the judicial process has progressed slowly, with few subsequent charges being filed in the nearly two years since the assassination occurred.

On July 7, 2021, a group of around 20 former Colombian military nationals stormed President Moïse’s residence, located on a hill overlooking Port-au-Prince, and fired 12 shots, tragically resulting in his death at the age of 53. His wife, Martine Moïse, was also present during the attack and sustained injuries but survived the brutal assault.

The assassination sent shockwaves throughout Haiti, a nation already grappling with political turmoil, plunging it into further chaos from which it has yet to recover. With violent gangs seizing the power vacuum, mass kidnappings have surged, displacing over 130,000 people and transforming daily life into what one local leader referred to in 2022 as a “low-intensity civil war,” highlighting the dire security situation.

Haitian President Jovenel Moïse executed at his residence by unknown shooters

Despite a series of high-profile arrests by U.S. authorities in the case over recent months, much about the assassination remains shrouded in mystery, including the identity of the ultimate mastermind behind this tragic event. Investigators continue to piece together the events leading up to the night of the assassination, revealing a complex web of conspiracy.

During a brief 10-minute hearing in a Miami courtroom, U.S. Judge Jose E. Martinez sentenced Jaar to life in prison on each of three counts. This sentence followed a request from federal prosecutors who sought life imprisonment as part of a plea agreement, reinforcing the serious nature of the charges against him.

According to U.S. prosecutors, two U.S. citizens—Antonio Intriago, 59, a Venezuelan citizen, and Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, 50, a Colombian—conspired to execute a plan with a Florida-based company to remove Moïse from power and replace him with Christian Sanon, an aspiring Haitian political leader who promised lucrative infrastructure contracts in exchange for their assistance.

These individuals, as prosecutors claim in court documents, recruited approximately 20 Colombian mercenaries to carry out their plan. However, when they realized that Sanon lacked the legal qualifications to assume the presidency, they decided to replace Moïse with a former Haitian Supreme Court judge instead, altering their strategy considerably.

Initial plans allegedly involved “extracting” Moïse from Haiti by air in June 2021. However, the operation faltered due to the inability to secure a plane, leading the conspirators to shift their focus towards executing the sitting president as the primary solution.

Four suspects arrested in Florida in connection with the assassination of the Haitian president

Jaar, now 50 years old, was accused of providing the funds used to acquire weapons and bribing unnamed Haitian officials responsible for Moïse’s security, thereby allowing the mercenaries easy access to the presidential residence. He is also alleged to have furnished his accomplices with food and lodging, facilitating their operations.

In December 2021, Jaar confessed to U.S. investigators that he provided firearms and ammunition to the Colombian mercenaries to support the assassination plot. Moreover, he directed an accomplice to hide weapons in a Haitian consulate after the murder, revealing the extent of his involvement in the criminal conspiracy.

U.S. authorities apprehended and charged Jaar in January 2022 in the Dominican Republic, where he had fled following the assassination. After his capture, he agreed to be extradited to Miami and cooperated with investigators, shedding light on the intricate details surrounding the assassination.

This year, U.S. authorities filed charges against eight suspects, including Christian Sanon, whom they allege smuggled 20 ballistic vests from South Florida to Haiti for use by his private military forces, further complicating the investigation into the assassination of President Moïse.