18 Suspects in Haiti’s Presidential Assassination Case Just Landed in Miami

A group of men held for years in Haitian custody over the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse crossed into American jurisdiction this weekend, handing federal prosecutors in Miami a case that Haiti’s own courts had been unable to move for half a decade.

Why Haiti Finally Handed Off the Case

Haitian officials framed the handover as an extension of closer legal coordination with Washington, aimed at advancing a prosecution their own courts could no longer carry forward. Years of gang control over Port-au-Prince, threats against sitting judges and a broader security collapse had left the domestic case effectively frozen. American prosecutors already had a jurisdictional foothold, since much of the planning and financing is alleged to have taken shape in South Florida rather than in Haiti itself.

Who Arrived in Florida

Seventeen of the eighteen new arrivals are former Colombian soldiers accused of carrying out the attack. The eighteenth is Joseph Felix Badio, a former Haitian government employee who once worked inside the justice ministry’s anti-corruption unit before he was dismissed over alleged ethics violations shortly before the killing. Badio evaded arrest for roughly two years before Haitian police finally took him into custody in October 2023. He is now formally charged with conspiracy in the U.S. case, and federal prosecutors allege he impersonated a U.S. drug enforcement agent and took a direct role in the killing itself.

From Anti-Corruption Officer to Alleged Organizer

Testimony introduced at the May trial described Badio as the person who gave the order to move down from the group’s mountainside safe house toward the president’s residence on the night of the attack, and who supplied weapons to the Colombian team while directing them toward a second-floor bedroom where Moïse reportedly kept cash and firearms. Separate trial evidence indicated Badio funneled $110,000 to Moïse’s security detail to keep them from intervening and spent another $20,000 on ammunition ahead of the attack.

Inside Monday’s Miami Courtroom

Badio arrived at Monday’s hearing in a wheelchair, while the rest of the group was brought in stages, handcuffed and shackled — details that emerged from reporters in the room, since cameras are barred from federal court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid worked through each defendant individually, appointing counsel and setting the next round of court dates.

A 30-Person Indictment — And Growing

The new arrivals join a case that now names 30 people in connection with Moïse’s death. U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones wrote on social media that the transfer marked “the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability,” adding that his office intends to keep pursuing anyone tied to financing or carrying out the plot. Moïse, 53, was shot a dozen times inside his residence on July 7, 2021; his wife, Martine, was severely wounded in the same attack, an assassination that tipped Haiti into a political vacuum armed groups have exploited ever since.

Four Convictions, a Sentencing Date That Moved

Monday’s hearing wasn’t the first reckoning in a Miami courtroom. In May, a federal jury there convicted four men — Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio “Tony” Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages — on charges including providing material support resulting in a death and conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti’s president. Lead prosecutor Sean McLaughlin told jurors plainly, “This is a case about greed, arrogance and power.” All four face possible life sentences, but the timeline has shifted: Judge Jacqueline Becerra originally penciled in sentencing for late October, then moved it in July to avoid running the hearing alongside a separate trial. The four are now scheduled to learn their sentences on Feb. 2 and 3, 2027. At least five additional defendants, among them a former Haitian senator, have already pleaded guilty and are serving life terms.

The Defendant Still Awaiting Trial

Christian Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen from Palm Beach County, is the one defendant among the 30 whom investigators say hoped to become Haiti’s president himself once Moïse was out of the way. His own trial, also before Judge Becerra, is set to open September 28 and could run six to eight weeks; prosecutors are expected to again call Martine Moïse, the president’s widow, as a witness, as they did in the earlier trial.

What Comes Next

With eighteen more defendants now in South Florida custody, a fifth trial opening within days and a sentencing hearing set for early 2027, the Miami federal courthouse is positioned to remain the central venue for the Moïse case well into next year — and prosecutors have signaled the investigation is not finished.