PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Eighteen suspects arrested in connection with the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were extradited to the United States on Sunday, bringing closure to a lengthy and troubled judicial process in Haiti.
The defendants will stand trial in Florida, according to Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “Today marks the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse,” Quiñones wrote on the social media platform X. “We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to those who financed it, facilitated it, supported it or committed crimes to make it possible. Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished.”
The group includes 17 Colombian soldiers and Joseph Badio, a former employee of Haiti’s Ministry of Justice. Badio, regarded as a key figure in the conspiracy, was detained in October 2023 after evading capture for over two years. Attorneys for several suspects have alleged that Badio was the mastermind behind a scheme to use a fabricated arrest of the president as a pretext for his murder.
Authorities have indicated that some of the accused initially envisioned a coup rather than an assassination. The Colombian soldiers have testified in Haitian courts that they were subjected to beatings and death threats, and coerced into signing documents in a language they do not speak.
Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security stated that the extradition was necessary to ensure the proceedings could conclude effectively. The ministry noted that the Haitian judicial system has faced “significant difficulties,” including gang violence, death threats against judges, and the seizure of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse by armed groups.
Diana Marcela Arbeláez Llano, the wife of one of the extradited men, expressed shock at the sudden transfer. Speaking from Colombia, she said her family had not anticipated the speed of the U.S. action. She also raised concerns about the health of the detainees, citing harsh prison conditions in Haiti, and described the situation as one of “total uncertainty.”
Quiñones confirmed that 30 people have been indicted in the case. FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles emphasized that federal agencies remain committed to holding all individuals accountable who allegedly profited from the killing.
The extraditions follow recent convictions in the United States. In May, a Florida jury found four men—Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages—guilty of conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti’s elected leader and providing material support for the plot. At least five other suspects have previously pleaded guilty and are serving life sentences.
Among those still awaiting trial is Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American citizen allegedly chosen by conspirators to assume the presidency. Prosecutors allege the plan involved Sanon awarding infrastructure and security contracts to companies linked to the plotters. Key fugitives, including former National Palace security chief Dimitri Hérard, remain at large after escaping during a gang-led prison break two years ago.
Thirty people indicted and only eighteen extradited? I hope the U.S. doesn’t abandon the rest. Justice needs to be complete for the victims’ families.
Finally some accountability after five long years. This is a crucial step, though I worry about the remaining fugitives still at large.