Jovenel Moise killing: 18 suspects sent to US for trial

Eighteen suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise have been transported from Haiti to Florida to stand trial, US officials said on September 20.

Federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quinones said the suspects were flown by military plane to the Southern District of Florida. He said 30 suspects have so far been indicted in the killing. FBI special agent Brett Skiles said the operation showed the FBI's commitment to bringing participants in the plot to justice.

Moise, 53, was killed on July 7, 2021, at his private residence by a hired group of about 20 military-trained Colombian mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene to protect him.

Haitian government and police sources told AFP that Joseph Felix Badio, a former anti-corruption official at Haiti's Ministry of Justice and a main suspect in the investigation, was among those extradited. The same sources said the others were Colombian mercenaries. Colombia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was monitoring the transfer of 17 Colombian citizens from Haiti to the United States and said Bogota did not intervene in the decision or the process.

In May, four men were convicted in federal court in Miami on charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moise, conspiracy to provide material support and violating the US Neutrality Act to engage in an illicit military operation abroad. They face possible life sentences. Federal prosecutors said the four were linked to CTU, a Florida-based private security firm, and were drawn into the plot by the prospect of contracts if Moise was ousted.

Haiti has had no president since Moise's killing. It is preparing for presidential and legislative elections and a constitutional referendum on December 13, if security conditions allow. Gangs control around 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, and a United Nations-backed armed force tasked with helping local police combat gangs will not be fully staffed by October as planned, its spokesman said earlier this month.