A key defendant in the trial of the men charged in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti is set to plead guilty this week, in what could be a major breakthrough for U.S. prosecutors who are handling the case in Miami federal court.
A change of plea hearing has been set for Thursday in the case of a retired Colombian Army captain, Germán Rivera, according to court records.
“I am writing to advise that Mr. Germán Rivera is scheduled to plead guilty,” Sarah Schall, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office in the southern district of Florida, told The Times.
The guilty plea is widely viewed by legal observers as a sign that Mr. Rivera, who was considered a leader of the plot to kill Mr. Moïse, is willing to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against the other defendants, an important development that would bolster the prosecution’s case.
Ms. Schall would not comment further on Mr. Rivera’s plea.
Mr. Rivera, 45, initially pleaded not guilty after his extradition from Haiti in February. Prosecutors say he helped recruit a team of about 20 private security contractors accused of killing Mr. Moïse in his bedroom shortly after midnight on July 7, 2021.
Mr. Rivera could face a life sentence on four charges of conspiring to kidnap or kill Mr. Moïse.
On the night of the assassination, Mr. Rivera led a convoy of vehicles that assaulted the president’s residence, according to an indictment against 11 accused conspirators. A few hours earlier, Mr. Rivera and others had met at a nearby house “where firearms and equipment were distributed,” according to court documents.
Mr. Moïse was shot 12 times at a close distance and died instantly.
About 20 former Colombian soldiers were recruited in May 2021 to travel to Haiti as private military contractors and were initially instructed to provide security for a would-be presidential candidate, Christian Sanon, a Haitian American pastor. The plan later evolved into arresting Mr. Moïse and, finally, to killing him, according to prosecutors.
Mr. Rivera was in charge of the Colombians and passed along the order to assassinate Mr. Moïse to the rest of the team, according to recorded witness statements made to Colombian law enforcement after the assassination and leaked to a Colombian TV station. Most of them were highly trained former Colombian soldiers.
Mr. Rivera “is likely to turn state’s evidence and flip against other defendants,” said Emmanuel Perez, who represents Antonio Intriago, the owner of a Miami-area security firm who is also charged in the plot. “It is likely to be the defendants that were on the ground in Haiti on the night of the assassination.”
Mr. Rivera would potentially provide prosecutors with a powerful witness, said David Weinstein, a former federal and state prosecutor now in private practice who is not involved with the case.
Potentially facing life in prison, Mr. Rivera could seek a reduced sentence in return for his cooperation, though how much…
2023-09-05 18:45:06
Post from www.nytimes.com
rnrn