Colombian mercenary could plead guilty in the assassination of the president of Haiti

2023-09-06 14:44:40

Retired captain Germán Rivera is 45 years old and is the noted leader of the mercenaries who assassinated Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. The man, apparently, will take a turn in the process and will acknowledge his responsibility in the assassination after insisting on being innocent from the moment of his capture.

A spokesman for the southern district of Florida told The New York Times that the retired military man is willing to plead charges at Thursday’s hearing and that he will do so because he intends to reach a cooperation agreement with justice.

Read more: What is known about the Colombians involved in the assassination of the president of Haiti

Rivera’s commitment would be to testify against the others involved. The justice system had already considered his testimony as relevant because it can reconstruct how the assassination of the Haitian president took place.

“Rivera knows everything, he can break down how it all started, who was at the meetings, how everything was organized and who gave the orders,” William Acosta, a criminal defense investigator, told the aforementioned outlet.

It was at dawn on July 7, 2021 that a group of Colombian and Haitian mercenaries entered the residence of President Jovenel Moïse in Port-au-Prince: they killed him with 12 shots. The first lady, Martine Moise, was also injured in the incident.

Find out: The details that revealed the plan to kill the president of Haiti

One of those responsible for that crime would be Rivera. The ex-soldier is accused of recruiting 20 Colombian mercenaries: the investigation says that it was he who delivered weapons and assault equipment to end Moïse’s life. Initially, he told his team that the operation was backed by the CIA and that they would be “immune.”

Rivera, in principle, would have been contacted by the company CTU Security, based in the United States, to provide bodyguard services to high-ranking Haitian dignitaries.

The former soldier – from his capture in 2021 until his extradition to the United States in February of this year – had pleaded not guilty in the murder of Moïse. With the eventual agreement with the courts, Rivera could request a reduced sentence in exchange for turning on the fan of the truth in the assassination.