PORT-AU-PRINCE — Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella stated Tuesday that his authorities will present authorized help to the 17 former troopers— members of the Colombian commando— accused of involvement within the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, calling the lads “heroes” and providing monetary help to them and to their households.
“Harmless folks shouldn’t pay for the responsible,” De La Espriella posted on X, pledging authorized help for his countrymen. “I’m not the form of president who abandons his heroes in troublesome instances.”
The announcement comes lower than three weeks after the Colombian veterans and Joseph Félix Badio—a former Haitian authorities official—had been extradited from Haiti to the USA to face federal proceedings within the long-running assassination case. The 18 defendants first appeared earlier than a federal court docket in Miami on Sept. 21.
De La Espriella, a Colombian lawyer and businessman turned far-right politician who took workplace on Aug. 7 after defeating Gustavo Petro on June 21, stated he instructed Colombia’s protection and justice ministers to make sure former troopers have entry to authorized illustration. He stated the federal government desires the details surrounding the killing established and every particular person’s duty decided by the judicial course of.
His choice marks a pointy shift in tone from Colombia’s earlier authorities, which apologized to Haiti for the involvement of Colombian nationals within the assassination.
In January 2025, throughout a go to to Haiti to strengthen bilateral and historic ties between the 2 nations, former President Petro formally apologized for the involvement of Colombian mercenaries in Moïse’s killing.
“I apologize as a result of some white Colombians got here right here to kill the president of Haiti,” Petro stated in his speech, emphasizing that Colombia needs to attract nearer to Haiti with a honest coronary heart and an open hand, not with the palms of assassins.
At the least 22 Colombian veterans, working for a Florida safety contractor— Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU) — are believed to have been concerned in a July 7, 2021 raid on the house of President Moïse that resulted in his assassination.
Three had been killed in clashes with Haitian police following the killing, whereas 18 had been arrested in Port-au-Prince. A kind of arrested, German Rivera, was the primary Colombian suspect transferred from Haiti to the U.S. in January 2023 for prosecution alongside Haitian American suspects Emmannel Sanon, James Solages and Joseph Vincent. Rivera, also referred to as Colonel Mike, pleaded responsible.
One other ex-Colombian gunman, Mario Antonio Palacios, escaped from Haiti to Jamaica however was later deported and detained throughout a layover in Panama earlier than being extradited to Florida, the place he was sentenced to life in jail for conspiracy to commit homicide and kidnapping.
Colombian critics problem De La Espriella
The Colombian president’s announcement drew criticism in Colombia, together with from investigative journalist Gonzalo Guillén, founding father of La Nueva Prensa.
Guillén described the previous troopers as “terrorists” and accused De La Espriella of glorifying folks accused of collaborating within the killing of a international chief.
He additionally questioned utilizing public funds to finance their authorized protection and help their households.
“I’m not the form of president who abandons his heroes in troublesome instances.”
Colombian President Abelardo De La Espriella
“It’s no coincidence that these assassins have ties to shady people in Miami, about whom La Nueva Prensa will quickly publish an in depth investigation,” Guillén posted on X.
Colombian lawmaker Ana Leidy Erazo Ruiz, a consultant from Valle del Cauca, additionally criticized the choice, accusing the federal government of making use of a “double normal” in deciding which circumstances obtain state help.
She referred to as for detailed info from the Ministry of Justice concerning the deliberate help, arguing that Colombian taxpayers shouldn’t be required to finance the protection of individuals accused of bringing disgrace to the nation.
Colombia’s Justice Minister, Gen. Jorge Mora, stated his ministry would comply with the president’s directions and be sure that the defendants have entry to due course of and authorized illustration.
“Defending our women and men in regulation enforcement additionally means guaranteeing that justice is served with all the required safeguards,” Mora stated.
Haitian authorities haven’t publicly responded to De La Espriella’s announcement. The Superior Council of the Judiciary has additionally not issued an announcement on the Colombian authorities’s choice.
US case strikes ahead
Whereas Haiti’s investigation stalled for 5 years with no trial or conviction, U.S. prosecutors have continued to pursue the case.
The 18 defendants transferred from Haiti are amongst 30 folks charged by a federal grand jury in South Florida with varied alleged roles within the conspiracy. U.S. prosecutors allege that the plot was largely deliberate and financed in South Florida and concerned an effort to kidnap or kill Moïse and seize political energy in Haiti.
The U.S. case has already produced a number of convictions. In Might, a federal jury convicted Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages for his or her roles within the conspiracy. The 4 face life imprisonment. At the least 5 different defendants have pleaded responsible and acquired life sentences, together with former Haitian Sen. John Joël Joseph and Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar.
In the meantime, the trial of Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-American pastor and doctor accused of serving to orchestrate the plot, started in Miami in late September. Sanon has pleaded not responsible to expenses together with conspiracy to kidnap or kill an individual exterior the USA.
The U.S. prosecution is predicated on alleged planning, financing and different conduct that prosecutors say occurred in South Florida, giving federal courts jurisdiction over the case.
The contrasting paths of the 2 investigations — a Haitian case nonetheless struggling to maneuver ahead and a U.S. prosecution that has already produced convictions and a brand new trial — underscore the persevering with worldwide dimensions of the hassle to ascertain who deliberate, financed and carried out the assassination of Haiti’s president and why.
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