Haiti Sends 18 Moïse Assassination Suspects to the US—Why the Case Couldn’t Move Forward at Home
Eighteen people accused in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse have been transferred from Haiti to the United States to face proceedings in Florida. The move shifts a long-stalled case into American courts after years of delays, security threats and a breakdown in Haiti’s judicial system.
The group includes 17 Colombian former soldiers and Joseph Badio, a former Haitian Ministry of Justice employee who worked in an anti-corruption unit. US authorities say the investigation remains active, with 30 people indicted in connection with the killing.
The transfer marks a major change in where the case will be pursued. It does not, however, mean that every allegation has been resolved or that the people transferred have been convicted.
Why the Case Is Moving to Florida
Moïse was shot dead at his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. He was 53. His wife was also injured in the attack.
Since then, efforts to move the case through Haiti’s courts have repeatedly stalled. Investigations have been disrupted by gang violence, threats against judges and the loss of secure access to court facilities.
The Haitian government said it transferred the suspects to allow their trials to proceed and to strengthen cooperation with American judicial authorities. Its justice ministry acknowledged that proceedings in Haiti continued to face significant difficulties.
US prosecutors have alleged that parts of the plot were planned and financed in South Florida, as well as in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. That alleged US connection has made Florida a central venue for the federal prosecutions.
Who Was Transferred?
The 18 people include 17 Colombian former soldiers and Joseph Badio, a former Haitian government employee. Badio was arrested in Haiti in October 2023 after spending more than two years on the run, according to reporting on the case.
Badio has been described as a key suspect. Lawyers representing other defendants in the United States have alleged that he was a mastermind behind a plan that was supposed to involve Moïse’s arrest but instead resulted in his assassination. That is an allegation made in the legal proceedings, not a finding of guilt against Badio.
There are also competing accounts of what some participants believed they were doing. Authorities have said some suspects envisioned a coup rather than an assassination. Colombian former soldiers have testified in Haiti that they were beaten, threatened with death and made to sign documents in a language they did not understand.
The allegations and claims surrounding the case will need to be assessed through the legal process.
Four Men Were Convicted in Florida in May
The extradition comes after a jury in Florida convicted four men in May 2026 for their roles in the conspiracy.
The men were Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages. The jury found them guilty of conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti’s elected leader and providing material support for the plot. They face possible life sentences.
At least five other defendants have pleaded guilty and are serving life sentences, according to reporting on the case.
Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American citizen, is among those still awaiting trial. Authorities have alleged that conspirators initially considered him as a replacement for Moïse and that he was expected to award contracts if he took power. Those claims remain part of the prosecution’s account of the alleged plot.
Families Say the Transfer Came as a Surprise
The extradition also raised concerns among relatives of some of the detained men.
Diana Marcela Arbelaez Llano, the wife of one suspect, told India Today that families had not expected the transfer to happen so suddenly. She said she hoped the defendants would have an opportunity to prove their innocence and expressed concern about the health of Colombian detainees because of conditions in Haitian prisons.
Relatives had previously complained about repeated delays in Haiti’s judicial process, which had left the suspects waiting years for their cases to advance.
Haiti’s Wider Security Crisis Has Complicated the Search for Justice
The assassination took place during a period of severe political instability. In the years since Moïse’s death, armed gangs have expanded their influence, while threats and insecurity have made it difficult for institutions to operate.
The United Nations reported that at least 1,408 people were killed and 656 injured in Haiti between April and June 2026, according to figures cited by the BBC. The country was also preparing for presidential and legislative elections scheduled for December 13, if the security situation allowed them to proceed.
The case has therefore become more than a prosecution of individuals accused of involvement in a single killing. It is also unfolding against the backdrop of a national crisis that has hindered Haiti’s ability to investigate and prosecute major crimes within its own institutions.
The Investigation Is Not Over
US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones said the transfer represented another phase in the pursuit of accountability and that investigators would continue following evidence involving people who allegedly financed, facilitated or supported the plot.
Authorities have also identified fugitives who remain at large, including Dimitri Hérard, the former head of security at Haiti’s National Palace.
For now, the transfer of 18 suspects places another part of the case before US courts. The central questions—who organized and financed the assassination, what each defendant allegedly did, and who can be held criminally responsible—remain matters for the legal proceedings.
The move may allow the prosecutions to advance in a venue where trials have already produced convictions. But it also underscores the difficulty Haiti has faced in bringing one of the country’s most consequential criminal cases to trial at home.
