18 Suspects Taken to US Over Moïse Assassination

Eighteen suspects linked to the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse have been transferred from Haiti to the United States to face federal proceedings in Florida.

The suspects were flown from Port-au-Prince aboard a U.S. military aircraft.

They include 17 Colombian nationals and Joseph Felix Badio, a former Haitian Ministry of Justice official regarded as a key suspect in the investigation.

Moïse, 53, was shot dead at his private residence in Port-au-Prince in July 2021 by an armed group that included former Colombian soldiers. U.S. authorities say the assassination was part of a wider international conspiracy.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quiñones, said the transfer marked a new phase in efforts to hold everyone involved accountable.

He said investigators would continue pursuing those who financed, facilitated or supported the plot.

U.S. prosecutors say 30 people have so far been indicted in connection with the assassination.

Four men were convicted in a Miami federal court in May, while Haiti’s own judicial process has been severely hampered by insecurity, gang violence and threats to judicial officials.