Five Years after Haiti President’s Killing, 18 Suspects Extradited to U.S.
Five years after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, the investigation has taken another major step, with 18 suspects transferred from Haiti to the United States to face trial in Florida.
U.S. officials said the suspects were flown to the Southern District of Florida, where they are expected to face charges linked to the July 2021 killing of Moïse.
The former Haitian president, who was 53, was shot dead inside his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021, in an attack allegedly carried out by a group of Colombian mercenaries with military training.
Among those transferred is Joseph Felix Badio, a former anti-corruption official with Haiti’s Ministry of Justice who has emerged as a key suspect in the investigation.
Haitian government and police sources identified the remaining suspects as Colombian nationals allegedly connected to the operation.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that it was monitoring the transfer of 17 Colombian citizens from Haiti to the United States, while stressing that its government was not involved in the decision or process that led to their transfer.
The latest development adds to a widening U.S. prosecution over the killing. Federal authorities say 30 people have so far been indicted in connection with the assassination.
The case has already produced convictions in the United States. In May, four men were found guilty by a federal court in Miami on charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moïse, providing material support and violating the U.S. Neutrality Act through an alleged military operation abroad.
Those convicted face possible life sentences.
The assassination plunged Haiti deeper into a political and security crisis and triggered an international investigation involving authorities in Haiti, Colombia and the United States.
With the latest extraditions, U.S. prosecutors are continuing efforts to bring more alleged participants before American courts and establish the full chain of events surrounding the killing of Haiti’s president.
