Ex-opposition senator charged for involvement in Haitian leader's 2021 assassination

A former Haitian senator, John Joel Joseph, has been sentenced to life in prison by a federal judge in Miami for his involvement in a conspiracy to kill Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse in 2021.

The plot, described by US prosecutors as a scheme originating in both Haiti and Florida, aimed to hire mercenaries for the abduction or assassination of President Moïse, as AP reported.

Joseph, an established politician and opponent of the slain president's party, faced charges of conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death.

He is the third of 11 suspects detained in Miami to be sentenced in connection with the assassination plot, which was carried out on July 7, 2021.