Five years after Jovenel Moise’s assassination, 18 suspects extradited to the US to face justice

Five years after the assassination of Haiti’s then-president, Jovenel Moise, US authorities have taken custody of 18 people extradited from Haiti who are suspected of participating in the 2021 attack.

US federal prosecutor Jason Redding Quinones, who is handling the case, described the development as a new and important stage in efforts to bring those responsible to justice. The news was made public on Sunday.

“Five years after the events, we continue to bring suspects before US justice, and we are not done yet,” Quinones wrote on the X platform. He also announced that charges had been brought against 30 people in connection with the case.

One of those extradited is Joseph Felix Badio, a former member of Haiti’s anti-corruption unit, which operated under the Ministry of Justice. Sources from the interim government and the Haitian police consider him one of the main suspects in the case.

The other people sent to the United States are Colombian mercenaries, according to the same sources.

Jovenel Moise, 53, was killed during the night of July 6-7, 2021, when an armed group attacked his private residence in Port-au-Prince. The president’s bodyguards did not intervene during the attack.

After the assassination, Haitian police immediately arrested around 40 people, including around 20 Colombian mercenaries. However, the investigation in Haiti has been repeatedly hampered by problems in the justice system.

In the United States, in parallel with the Haitian proceedings, 11 people have been charged with suspected involvement in the plot to kill Moise. According to US prosecutors, the plot to kill or kidnap the president was organized in Florida.

Five people have been sentenced to life in prison in the United States in connection with the case. Four others were found guilty in May on several charges, including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Haiti’s then-president.

Moise’s assassination took place during a period when Haiti had already been facing political instability, economic difficulties and violence for years. The crisis has worsened further in recent years because of gang activity.

Haiti has not held elections since 2016 and, following Moise’s assassination, the country has not had a president.

According to an assessment published in June by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 1.5 million of Haiti’s approximately 11 million residents have been displaced within the country because of violence. The attacks have not been limited to the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Electoral authorities have planned for the first round of presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in December, while the second round is expected to take place in February 2027.