Miami, US (EFE).- 18 individuals accused of participating in the plot to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 appeared in a Miami court on Monday after being extradited over the weekend from Haiti, where they had been held in custody.
The defendants belong to a group of 30 people charged in connection with the assassination of Moïse, carried out by a mercenary group, including 17 Colombian nationals, on July 7, 2021, at his private residence in the capital neighborhood of Pétion-Ville, near Port-au-Prince.
According to US media reports, most of those appearing in court on Monday were identified as Colombian mercenaries, though a former Haitian government official is also among them.
During the hearing, Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid appointed public defenders and scheduled upcoming court proceedings for the case.
The defendants face federal charges including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the United States and providing material support resulting in death, offenses that carry sentences of up to life imprisonment.
All 18 were extradited to Miami on Sunday, according to Assistant US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones.
This is not the first time suspects involved in Moïse’s death have been tried in Miami. Five other co-conspirators were sentenced to life in prison between 2023 and 2024 for their roles in the assassination, while a sixth received a nine-year sentence after the judge determined he had no prior knowledge of the plot.
In addition, trial proceedings began in March for four other defendants.
Court documents reveal that between February and July 2021, South Florida «central location for planning and financing the plot to oust President Moïse from power and replace him with someone who would serve the co- conspirators used federal small-business pandemic relief funds to finance the assassination plot.
More than 50 people have been indicted in Haiti in connection with the assassination, including Moïse’s widow and the 17 former Colombian military officers, though local proceedings remain stalled due to extreme violence and instability in the country.
According to the indictment, the conspirators aimed to install Christian Sanon as president of Haiti. Once in power, Sanon was expected to award lucrative contracts to a Doral-based company linked to several of the defendants.
The operation was initially presented to the Colombian soldiers as a legitimate law enforcement arrest backed by US agencies, as some of those previously convicted had past ties as informants for the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Moïse’s assassination created a power vacuum in Haiti, allowing armed gangs to seize control of large parts of the nation. This triggered a severe humanitarian and security crisis, driving many Haitians to flee the country for the United States. EFE
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