Assassination suspect  arrested at Tocumen International

The United States Department of Justice confirmed on Tuesday afternoon, January 4, that Mario Antonio Palacios, 43, was arrested in Panama for his alleged connection to a plot to assassinate the president of Haiti, Jovenel Moise.

According to the entity, Palacios was arrested based on a “criminal complaint” filed against him in the Southern District of Florida.

Palacios, who is a former Colombian military man, is charged with conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and provide support resulting in death.

The charges are related to the murder of Moise, which occurred on July 7, 2021, in the city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The ex-military man in statements to Semana magazine denied that he participated in that assassination.

According to the indictment, Palacios and a group of approximately 20 people of Colombian and Haitian-American origin participated in the plot to commit the assassination.

Another point that stands out in the document of the complaint is that initially, they intended to kidnap Moise, however in the end they assassinated him at his residence.

Palacios was deported this January 3 from Jamaica to Colombia and during a stopover at the Tocumen International Airport, he agreed to travel to the United States.

If convicted of the charges, Palacios would face a maximum sentence of life in prison.