Eighteen defendants in the July 7, 2021, assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were flown out of Port-au-Prince on a U.S. military aircraft on Sunday, Sept. 20; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida said it transported them to South Florida to face federal charges. Its release did not name them.
Who was on the flight
U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones announced the transfer in the release and in a post on X: “Today marks the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.” He ended it: “Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished.” Quiñones also said 30 people have been indicted in the killing; the reports do not say what that figure covers. FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles said “Today’s multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI’s continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice.”
The Miami Herald, citing people familiar with the operation and a flight manifest it obtained, reported that the 18 were Joseph Félix Badio, a former Haitian government functionary indicted in Haiti, and 17 jailed Colombian former soldiers. AP’s accounts have differed: one said 17 Colombian soldiers and Badio, another “more than a dozen Colombian soldiers, a former Haitian police officer and Joseph Badio,” a former Ministry of Justice employee in an anti-corruption unit.
What the charges are
The release links a public indictment: a sixth superseding indictment in United States v. Sanon, No. 22-20104, before U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra in the Southern District of Florida, stamped as filed Aug. 27, 2026. It charges Badio in three counts: conspiracy to provide material support or resources to carry out a violation of Section 956, resulting in death; providing material support or resources to carry out a violation of Section 956, resulting in death; and conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States. Each carries a maximum of life in prison, and the indictment charges most of the other defendants it names with the same three counts.
The release does not say which of the defendants were on the flight and gives no court date. These are charges, and everyone named in the indictment is presumed innocent. Lawyers in the South Florida prosecution told the Herald they were unaware of the transfer, and that the Miami federal case “was recently placed under seal.”
Haiti’s side
Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security said in a statement that it surrendered the suspects “to allow for their trial,” AP reported, and noted that proceedings in Haiti “continue to face significant difficulties.”
AP reported that Haitian officials asked the United States and Canada for help in October 2025 after an appeals court ordered a new investigation, “the third inquiry of its kind since he was shot 12 times at his private residence in July 2021.” Earlier inquiries stalled because judges kept resigning, fearing for their lives, and gangs seized the courthouse.
The Herald reported that Haitian authorities resisted handing Badio over because he is central to their own slow-moving inquiry. He was arrested in Haiti in October 2023 after more than two years in hiding. The Herald reported that he has maintained his innocence and has indicated that he has information about the assassination. AP reported that defense attorneys in the U.S. for other suspects have asserted he was the mastermind. Both are assertions, not findings.
The case already in court
The 18 are separate from the four men a federal jury in Miami convicted on May 8, 2026: Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages.
The Justice Department described the charges as conspiracy to provide material support or resources to carry out a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 956, resulting in death; conspiracy to kill and kidnap a person outside the United States; and expedition against a friendly nation, among other counts.
The department said the four recruited allies “including 22 former Colombian Army soldiers and Haitian gang leaders,” and that eight co-conspirators pleaded guilty, six of whom testified at trial. AP separately reported that at least five people who pleaded guilty are serving life sentences.
Judge Jacqueline Becerra delayed their sentencing until February, the Miami Herald reported on Sept. 9; the maximum penalty is life in prison.
Timeline
- July 7, 2021: Moïse is shot at his private residence; his wife is wounded.
- October 2023: Badio is arrested in Haiti.
- May 8, 2026: A Miami jury convicts four defendants.
- Aug. 27, 2026: A sixth superseding indictment is filed in Miami federal court.
- Sept. 20, 2026: Eighteen suspects are flown out of Haiti.
What happens next
The Herald reported that Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-American citizen whom authorities have said the alleged conspirators first picked to replace Moïse, is scheduled to go on trial Sept. 28 in federal court in Miami before Judge Becerra, following a delay for health reasons. The trial is expected to last six to eight weeks, the Herald reported on Sept. 9. His lawyer, Zeljka Bozanic, told the Herald “We’re looking forward to proving our client’s innocence in this whole thing.”