A former Colombian soldier who attended a key meeting to plan the assassination of Haiti’s president and joined in the deadly assault pleaded guilty Friday, making him the fifth of 11 defendants in the FBI’s case to accept responsibility and assist U.S. authorities.

Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios, 44, had fled to Jamaica two months after the July 7, 2021 assassination and became the first suspect to surrender to FBI agents in January of last year after initially confessing to FBI agents at a Kingston hotel — a confession that he and his lawyers later claimed was given under duress. But Palacios chose to accept responsibility for his role in the murder conspiracy targeting Haitian President Jovenel Moïse before a judge was going to rule on his bid to throw out the confession.

According to the FBI, Palacios admitted during a nearly six-hour video-recorded interview with federal agents that he took a necklace, two watches, $2,060 cash and other personal items belonging to Moïse, and his wife, Martine, when he was killed and she was injured in the assault at their hillside home outside Port-au-Prince.

At Friday’s hearing, Palacios pleaded guilty to conspiring to provide material support to kill Haiti’s president, providing that support himself, and conspiring to kill a person outside the United States. He is expected to receive a life sentence before U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez on March 1.

Prosecutors say Palacios was recruited along with more than 20 former Colombian soldiers for the assassination plot by a Miami-area security firm’s top two executives, who are among the defendants. Palacios was led in the mission by a retired Colombian army officer, Alejandro Rivera Garcia, aka “Colonel Mike,” who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and was sentenced to life in prison this fall.

In the aftermath of the assault, three Colombians died during a shootout with Haitian national police outside the president’s residence.

MADE IN MIAMI: Read the Miami Herald investigation into the assassination of Jovenal Moïse

The U.S. government’s prosecution of the 11 original defendants has moved quickly with successive plea deals and sentencings.

This week, a former senator in Haiti’s parliament was sentenced to life in prison after he had previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill his country’s leader — but at a court hearing the ex-politician told a federal judge that his intention was only to arrest Moïse, not assassinate him. The former senator, Joseph Joël John, 52, who also is known as John Joël Joseph to his countrymen, was the third defendant to be given the maximum sentence by Martinez in the Haiti assassination case.

John was also present at meetings in Haiti where the operation to kill the country’s leader was discussed, including one gathering at Jaar’s home the day before the assassination. Among those attending that critical meeting: Rodolphe Jaar, a Haitian who hosted the gathering; Rivera, the Colombian commando leader; James Solages, a Haitian American; Joseph Vincent, a Haitian American who previously worked as an informant for the Drug Enforcement Administration; and Palacios, the ex-Colombian commando who is accused of being involved in the assault on the president’s home.

Earlier this month, Vincent, 58, pleaded guilty to the murder conspiracy and related charges and now faces life in prison.

Rivera, 45, aka “Colonel Mike,” admitted that he met with several co-conspirators from Haiti and South Florida before leading a group of former Colombian soldiers to the Haitian president’s home to kill him. He was sentenced in October to life in prison.

Jaar, 51, a Haitian businessman, admitted to providing weapons, lodging and money in the conspiracy to assassinate Haiti’s president. A dual Haitian and Chilean citizen, Jaar was sentenced in June to life in prison. Previously, he was also convicted of drug trafficking in the United States.