Ex-DEA Informant Sentenced for Life, Accomplice Pleads Guilty in Shocking Plot Behind Haiti’s President Assassination
A life sentence was given to a former informant of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), while another individual admitted guilt on Friday in a U.S. court regarding the 2021 killing of Haiti’s former president, Jovenel Moise.
The pair is part of a group of 11 individuals charged with allegedly conspiring to oust Moise by dispatching a squad of Colombian mercenaries to assassinate him at his residence in Port-au-Prince. Of the four already convicted in Miami, each has been handed a life sentence.
Moise was gunned down in his bedroom in a nocturnal assault, and his demise created a political void, allowing coalitions of aggressive gangs to extend their influence. Presently, these alliances are believed to dominate the majority of the capital.
The former informant, Joseph Vincent, a Haitian-American, admitted guilt for aiding the conspiracy by offering political guidance and arranging meetings with local leaders. As outlined in a legal record, he had posed as an official from the U.S. government.
On that very day, Frederick Joseph Bergmann Jr., a resident of Florida, admitted guilt to charges related to the case, which involved the submission of inaccurate export information.
A year ago, Bergmann Jr. was apprehended along with three fellow residents of Florida. During that period, U.S. authorities asserted that he had assisted in financing the accommodations for the mercenaries in Haiti and played a role in transporting bulletproof vests to Haiti through the falsification of export documents.
They had said he could face up to 20 years in prison.
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An independent inquiry is underway in Haiti, where the judge has summoned individuals for questioning, including Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who succeeded Moise without being elected, and Martine Moise, the late president’s widow.
Since Moise’s passing, there has been a significant increase in the influence of violent gangs armed with firearms, mostly believed to be sourced from the United States. These gangs have expanded their power, leading to territorial conflicts that have sparked a humanitarian crisis, displacing hundreds of thousands from their residences.
On Friday, the United Nations reported that January marked the most violent month in Haiti in over two years, with over 1,100 individuals either killed, injured, or abducted.
Demonstrations against the government erupted in the days preceding February 7, the deadline set by Henry for his resignation. However, he later reversed his decision, stating that the priority should be restoring security before holding elections that are free and fair.
The most recent elections in Haiti occurred in 2016, and the terms of the last group of senators concluded in January of the previous year.
Ex-DEA Informant Sentenced for Life, Accomplice Pleads Guilty in Shocking Plot Behind Haiti’s President Assassination
