18 Suspects Extradited from Haiti to US Over Moïse Assassination

Eighteen suspects detained in Haiti over the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse were extradited to the United States on Sunday. They will face federal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida, according to US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones.

The group includes 17 Colombian former soldiers and Joseph Félix Badio, a former Haitian Ministry of Justice official arrested in October 2023. Badio is considered a key suspect and alleged liaison for the operation.

“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to those who financed it, facilitated it, supported it or committed crimes to make it possible.”

Quiñones described the transfer as the next major phase in the pursuit of accountability. He vowed to continue investigating those who financed and facilitated the killing, noting that 30 people have been indicted overall.

FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles confirmed multiple arrests occurred in the US and abroad on Sunday. Haiti's Ministry of Justice and Public Security stated it surrendered the detainees to US authorities.

The Colombian soldiers have previously testified in Haiti that they were beaten, threatened with death, and forced to sign documents in a language they did not understand. Defense attorneys for other suspects have asserted Badio was the mastermind behind a plan to use the president's arrest as a cover for assassination.