Haiti Extradites 18 Moise Assassination Suspects to US as Florida Case Expands to 30 Indictments
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Sep 21
Haiti Extradites 18 Moise Assassination Suspects to US as Florida Case Expands to 30 Indictments
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Sep 21
Summary
Eighteen suspects were flown from Haiti to Florida to face US trial over the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, marking the biggest transfer yet in the case.
The group includes 17 Colombian ex-soldiers and former Haitian official Joseph Badio; US prosecutors say the plot was planned and financed from Florida, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
US authorities have now indicted 30 people, and four men were convicted in Miami in May on conspiracy charges that carry possible life sentences.
Haiti's stalled investigation has been undermined by gang control and a collapsing justice system, pushing the accountability effort into US courts.
Moise's killing deepened Haiti's turmoil; UN figures show 1,408 people killed and 656 injured from April to June as the country aims for December 13 elections if security permits.
If the accused mercenaries truly believed they were executing a coup, who are the shadowy masterminds still hiding behind this international assassination plot?
Why is a foreign superpower stepping in to prosecute a presidential assassination, and what does it mean for a nation ruled by gangs?
From Port-au-Prince to Miami: The U.S. Prosecution of 30 Suspects in the Moïse Assassination and the Collapse of Haiti’s Justice System
Overview
The assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 triggered a chain of events that exposed the collapse of Haiti’s judicial system, as armed gangs took over courthouses and paralyzed local investigations. Unable to prosecute suspects at home, Haitian officials requested U.S. assistance, leading to the transfer of 18 key suspects to U.S. custody in September 2026. U.S. prosecutors, having established jurisdiction through evidence of planning and financing in South Florida, expanded their case to indict 30 individuals. The conspiracy involved laundering COVID-19 relief funds, hiring Colombian mercenaries, and shifting from failed kidnapping plots to a deadly assault, plunging Haiti into deeper instability and violence.