Eighteen suspects have been arrested in connection with the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise, as United States authorities intensify a five-year investigation into one of the Caribbean nation’s most consequential political killings.
The suspects, who had been held in Haiti, were transported aboard a US military aircraft to South Florida to face federal charges linked to the plot that ended Moise’s presidency and plunged Haiti deeper into political and security turmoil.
Moise, 53, was shot dead in the early hours of July 7, 2021, when armed men stormed his private residence outside Port-au-Prince.
His wife, Martine Moise, was wounded in the attack.
Investigators said the operation involved military-trained Colombian mercenaries recruited as part of a wider conspiracy to remove the Haitian leader.
Confirming the latest operation, US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones said authorities had so far indicted 30 people over their alleged roles in the assassination.
“Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished,” Quiñones said.
He added that investigators would continue pursuing those accused of financing, facilitating, supporting or directly participating in the operation.
FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles also described the arrests as evidence of Washington’s determination to identify everyone involved in the plot.
According to Skiles, the FBI believes individuals involved in the assassination sought to profit from financial opportunities and business contracts that could become available following Moise’s removal from power.
The 18 defendants transferred to the United States include Colombian nationals and other suspects who have remained central to the sprawling investigation.
Among the prominent names linked to the case is Joseph Felix Badio, a former Haitian government anti-corruption official who has been identified by investigators as a major suspect.
Colombia’s government said it was closely following the transfer of 17 of its citizens from Haiti to the United States but stressed that Bogota did not participate in the decision to move them.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry said the process was handled by the relevant authorities in Haiti and the United States.
American courts have increasingly become the centre of efforts to prosecute those accused of involvement in Moise’s killing because parts of the alleged conspiracy were planned and financed from South Florida.
US prosecutors say money, weapons, personnel and logistical support connected to the operation moved through the United States before the assassination.
The investigation has already produced major convictions.
In May 2026, a federal jury in Miami convicted four men — Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages — for their roles in the plot.
The men were convicted on charges that included conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States and providing material support for an operation that resulted in death.
All four face possible life imprisonment.
Prosecutors said Intriago was connected to CTU Security, a South Florida private security company that became a key part of the investigation into how Colombian mercenaries were recruited for the operation.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that Intriago travelled to Haiti shortly before the assassination and communicated with other alleged conspirators as preparations intensified.
Solages, according to US prosecutors, acted as a liaison in Haiti, travelling between South Florida and the Caribbean nation and helping to coordinate activities involving armed groups.
US authorities have maintained that what began as a plan to remove Moise from power ultimately developed into an assassination operation.
Another man connected to the case, South Florida fundraiser Keegan Harricharan, was sentenced in July to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty in a money-laundering case.
Prosecutors said fraudulently obtained COVID-19 relief funds were laundered and helped finance aspects of the plot against Moise.
While the US investigation has produced indictments, convictions and prison sentences, the case has moved far more slowly within Haiti.
Five years after the assassination, Haiti has struggled to bring the accused to trial amid political instability, insecurity and severe pressure on its justice system.
The decision to send the latest suspects to the United States has consequently reignited debate over Haiti’s ability to prosecute one of the biggest criminal cases in its modern history.
Moise’s killing created a political vacuum that further destabilised a country already battling poverty, weak institutions and organised armed groups.
Haiti currently has no elected president, while heavily armed gangs have expanded their influence over large areas of Port-au-Prince.
Killings, kidnappings, armed robberies and displacement have become widespread as security forces struggle to regain control.
The Caribbean nation is now preparing for presidential and legislative elections as authorities attempt to restore constitutional government.
