DOJ Charges 2 for Export Violations as Part of Assassination of Haitian President

Two U.S. citizens, Christian Sanon and Frederick Bergmann, were charged with "conspiracy to commit export violations; submitting false and misleading export information; and smuggling ballistic vests from the United States to Haiti," DOJ said. The charges were announced Feb. 14 as part of a larger indictment against individuals involved in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

Per the terms of the indictment, Bergmann and Sanon met with two other co-defendants in South Florida to plan the assassination and replace Moise with Sanon. As part of the scheme, Bergmann worked with Sanon to ship 20 ballistic vests from South Florida to Haiti by lying on the export documents. The pair face a maximum 20-year prison sentence each if convicted, DOJ said.