Former Haiti coup leader pleads guilty in U.S. drug case

The leader of a 2004 coup that toppled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide pleaded guilty on Monday to a money laundering charge related to an international drug trafficking scheme, the U.S. Department of Justice said. Guy Philippe, 49, admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering stemming from his receipt of cash payments tied to narcotics sales in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Justice Department said. Prosecutors said Philippe, a former high-ranking official in the Haitian National Police, received more than $1.5 million of bribe payments to ensure the safe transit of drug shipments.