Amid supporters, Haiti leader pleads not guilty in drug case
MIAMI — With dozens of supporters packing a Miami federal courthouse, a former Haitian coup leader and recent senator-elect pleaded not guilty Friday to decade-old U.S. drug trafficking charges.
Guy Philippe entered the plea Friday morning at a brief hearing to a three-count cocaine smuggling and money-laundering conspiracy indictment dating to 2005 that carries a maximum life prison sentence if he is convicted.
Philippe, 48, was flown to the U.S. to face the charges after his arrest last week in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince during a live radio show. A leader of the 2004 coup that toppled then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Philippe had recently been elected to the Haitian Senate and was days away from being sworn in when he was arrested.
Supporters who came to the courthouse Friday said Philippe is innocent and blamed his arrest on political foes. They contend Philippe’s status as an elected Haitian official should give him immunity from prosecution, even though he had not officially taken office.