Former Haitian paramilitary leader and Senate candidate Guy Philippe, now being held in Miami on three counts of drug trafficking and money laundering, will apparently change his plea for all or some of the charges to either guilty or no contest on Mon., May 24 when he goes before U.S. District Court Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga.
At his Jan. 13 arraignment in Miami, Mr. Philippe, 49, had entered a plea of not guilty to all charges.
On Fri., Apr. 21, a notice appeared on the U.S. District Court’s calendar that Mr. Philippe’s lawyers had scheduled a “Change of Plea” hearing with Judge Altonaga for Monday at 2:30 p.m. in Miami.
Mr. Philippe’s trial is now scheduled to begin in Miami on May 1.
The drug trafficking charges can carry a sentence of life in prison, and the money laundering charges up to 20 years.
Guy Philippe was arrested by Haitian police in Port-au-Prince on Jan. 5 and then extradited to the U.S. on a Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) jet the same day.
