A convicted drug trafficker charged in US federal court for conspiracy to murder Haiti's president
Jaar, a 49-year-old Haitian-Chilean businessman, was arrested a fortnight ago in the Dominican Republic and extradited to Miami on Wednesday after agreeing o voluntary. Judge Lauren Louis ordered Jaar held without bail due to his criminal record and prior deportation. He will appear in court again next Wednesday for a detention hearing.
If convicted of the charges, Jaar faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. However, he could earn a reduced sentence after a U.S. prosecutor told the court Jaar had voluntarily agreed to his extradition. He also appears to have been cooperating with U.S. law enforcement since at least mid-December.
The evidence in Jaar's case could go a long way toward helping investigators uncover the masterminds of the assassination plot and the links to the United States. With the stalled investigation in Haiti, many Haitians believe the only hope of solving the crime and punishing those involved lies in the U.S. courts.
The Miami Herald reported Wednesday that the Haitian investigating judge overseeing the Moïse murder investigation had been removed from the case after missing the legal deadline for filing formal charges, a significant delay in prosecuting dozens of suspects arrested but not formally charged.
According to an FBI affidavit, Jaar helped house and arm several Colombian ex-soldiers hired by a Miami company, CTU Federal Academy, who assaulted Moise's official residence on the night of July 7.
"Jaar was responsible for providing weapons to the Colombians to facilitate the operation," according to the FBI agent Jacqueline Valdes. After storming the house, Valdes stated that Moise was shot 12 times in cold blood in front of his wife. Later that day, Jaar tried to help the Colombians escape by directing them to hide in the embassy of the Taiwanese embassy, she added.
According to court documents, on December 9, 2021, Jaar was interviewed by the FBI and admitted that he provided firearms and ammunition to the Colombians to support the assassination operation. He said that the process changed from an arrest operation to an assassination operation after the initial plan to "capture" the Haitian President at the national airport and fly him to the United States failed.
According to unidentified witness statements, Valdes claimed that Jaar was also present when a former Haitian judge signed a written request for assistance in furthering the arrest and imprisonment of President Moise and purporting to provide immunity to Haiti for such actions. According to his affidavit, these documents were subsequently delivered to unidentified persons in the United States a few days before the assassination.
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