Guy Philippe, a leader of a rebellion in Haiti and a convicted drug trafficker, was deported from the United States to his homeland this week. Philippe is just one of thousands deported to the troubled nation since President Joe Biden was sworn into office back in 2021.
The Miami Herald reports that Guy Philippe, 55, was deported on Thursday (November 30) from Alexandria, La. along with over a dozen other individuals. Philippe was a former commander in the Haitian police force who led an armed rebellion in 2004 to overthrow President Jean Bertrand Aristide. From there, Philippe got involved in a scheme with Colombian cocaine traffickers, assisting in a money-laundering operation for the group.
In 2017, after dodging capture by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Philippe was sentenced to nine years in prison for his role in the scheme. Philippe pleaded guilty to the charges but claimed innocence.
Philippe’s return to Haiti has been in process since September after he was released from a federal facility and moved into immigration custody. According to the Herald‘s report, Philippe attempted to get his sentence reduced since the sentencing.
The turn of Guy Philippe is a cause of concern for some as the country has yet to rebound from the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Philippe, despite his criminal record in the United States, won a seat in the Haiti Senate in 2016 while campaigning alongside Moïse. Just before he was set to be sworn in, Philippe was arrested and handed over to the DEA.
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Photo: JAIME RAZURI / Getty
