To date in the U.S. case, five of the 11 defendants have pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill Haiti’s president, resulting in life sentences that they hope to get reduced with their cooperation. Among those convicted: two ex-Colombian commandos, a former Haitian senator, a Haitian-American man who worked as an informant for the DEA, and a previously convicted Haitian drug trafficker.
A sixth defendant, a Tampa businessman, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges involving the smuggling of bulletproof vests that were illegally exported to Haiti for the group of ex-Colombian soldiers who carried out the deadly attack.
The remaining five defendants are charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Haiti’s leader and related charges, including recruiting the Colombian commandos. The conspiracy charge carries up to life in prison.