Eighteen Suspects in 2021 Assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse Extradited to U.S.

Eighteen suspects who were arrested in connection with the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were extradited from Haiti to the United States on Sunday. The transfer brings to a close a long-stalled judicial process inside Haiti for a killing that stunned the Caribbean nation, according to reports by the Associated Press.

The suspects are scheduled to face trial in Florida, as detailed by Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Writing on the social media platform X, Quiñones described the move as the next major phase in the pursuit of accountability for the assassination, noting that authorities will continue to follow the evidence to anyone who financed, facilitated, or committed crimes to make the plot possible.

While Quiñones did not publicly identify the individual suspects, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Among the individuals who had remained in Haiti awaiting trial prior to the extradition were more than a dozen Colombian soldiers and Joseph Badio, a former employee of the Haiti Ministry of Justice who worked in an anti-corruption unit.

Badio, regarded by investigators as a key suspect, was taken into custody in Haiti in October 2023 after evading authorities for more than two years. Defense attorneys representing other suspects in the United States have previously claimed that Badio acted as the mastermind behind a scheme that initially intended to arrest Moïse before turning into an assassination plot.

According to Quiñones, a total of 30 people have now been indicted in connection with the president's killing. FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles noted that multiple arrests were executed both within the United States and abroad on Sunday, emphasizing that federal agencies remain committed to holding accountable anyone who allegedly sought to profit from the death of a head of state.

The sudden transfers caught relatives of the accused off guard. Diana Marcela Arbeláez Llano, the wife of one of the suspects, stated in a phone interview from Colombia that families were never expecting the United States to take the detainees so abruptly. She expressed hope that the men would finally have an opportunity to prove their innocence in a court of law.

Arbeláez also noted that the detained Colombian nationals have suffered from poor health due to notoriously harsh conditions within Haitian prisons. While she expressed concern over the uncertainty of the situation, she indicated a hope that their well-being might improve following the transfer.

Family members of the Colombian suspects had repeatedly voiced frustration over protracted delays in Haiti's legal system following the initial arrests in 2021. The investigation was severely hampered by escalating gang violence, death threats directed at judicial personnel, and a crumbling local infrastructure.

In October 2025, Haitian justice officials formally requested assistance from the United States and Canada after a local appeals court ordered a fresh inquiry into the murder. It marked the third investigation of its kind since President Moïse was shot twelve times at his private residence in July 2021 during an attack that also injured his wife. Previous inquiries stalled repeatedly after successive Haitian judges resigned out of fear for their lives, and criminal gangs eventually seized control of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse where proceedings were taking place.

The latest extraditions coincide with ongoing U.S. prosecutions and sentencings related to the conspiracy. In May, a Florida federal jury convicted four men for their roles in the attack, while at least five other individuals have previously pleaded guilty and received life sentences.

Those convicted by the jury include Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages. Although all four maintained their innocence, the jury found them guilty of conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti's elected leader and providing material support for the plot.

Other defendants still awaiting trial include Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American citizen whom investigators allege was initially chosen by the conspirators to succeed Moïse. The purported plan involved Sanon assuming power and subsequently awarding lucrative government contracts to a South Florida-based company known as CTU for infrastructure projects, security forces, and military equipment. Ortiz and Intriago served as principals for CTU, while Veintemilla acted as a principal for Worldwide Capital Lending Group, another South Florida entity.

Additional suspects who previously entered guilty pleas in U.S. federal court include a retired Colombian army officer and a Haitian-Chilean businessman who previously served as a U.S. government informant. Meanwhile, authorities note that certain key figures remain at large, including Dimitri Hérard, the former head of security at Haiti's National Palace, who escaped two years ago during a raid by a powerful gang federation on the country's two largest prisons.