US Informant gets life in prison for role in former Haiti president's assassination

A former informant for the US government has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in the assassination of Haiti’s former president, Jovenel Moise. Joseph Vincent, 58, a Haitian-American, admitted to participating in the plot to assassinate the late president two months ago. His sentencing occurred in a Miami court, where he expressed remorse before the judge. President Moise was fatally shot at his residence in Port-au-Prince in 2021. Vincent, who had worked with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), becomes the fourth individual out of 11 defendants to receive a life sentence in the federal case in Miami. The trial is being held in Florida as part of the US Department of Justice’s jurisdiction, given that some aspects of the plot were developed in south Florida. Vincent confessed to discussing the assassination plan and guiding co-conspirators to President Moise’s residence in July 2021. His role involved providing advice on Haitian politics, meeting with local leaders, and inciting protests against President Moise as a pretext for his overthrow. Although Vincent purportedly wore a US State Department pin during meetings to suggest he was affiliated with Washington, the DEA clarified that he was not acting on behalf of the agency. Haiti’s ambassador to the US, Bocchit Edmond, dismissed any notion of US drug agents being involved in the attack, attributing it to professional mercenaries. The initial plan was to kidnap President Moise, but it later evolved into a full-fledged assassination, as revealed in court documents. Another suspect, Frederick Joseph Bergmann Jr., pleaded guilty to providing false export information. He is accused of smuggling ballistic vests as part of the plot. Colombian ex-soldiers and businessmen are also implicated in supplying funds or weapons and executing the attack. Seventeen individuals have been arrested in Haiti in connection with President Moise’s murder, according to reports, yet none have faced formal charges. Following the assassination, Haiti has been embroiled in political turmoil and rampant gang violence, with January 2024 marked as the most violent month in over two years, according to the United Nations, with approximately 1,100 people killed, injured, or kidnapped.