Eighteen suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise have been transported from Haiti to Florida to face trial in the United States.
US officials said the suspects were flown to Florida in a military aircraft, as authorities continue efforts to prosecute those accused of involvement in the killing.
Federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quinones said on social media that the 18 suspects had been “transported in military plane from Haiti to face American justice in the Southern District of Florida”.
“Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished,” Quinones said, adding that 30 suspects had so far been indicted in connection with the assassination.
Among those taken to the US is Joseph Felix Badio, a former anti-corruption official at Haiti’s Ministry of Justice, according to Haitian government and police sources cited by AFP.
The other suspects are Colombian mercenaries, the sources said.
Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was monitoring the transfer of 17 Colombian citizens from Haiti to the US.
Bogota said it had not been involved in the decision or process that led to the transfer, describing it as a matter for the relevant authorities in the countries concerned.
FBI special agent Brett Skiles said the arrests demonstrated the agency’s determination to pursue everyone involved in the plot.
“Today's multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI's continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice,” Skiles said.
Moise, 53, was shot dead at his private residence in Port-au-Prince on July 7,2021 by a group of about 20 military-trained Colombian mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene to protect him.
In May, four men were convicted in a federal court in Miami over charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap President Moise, conspiracy to provide material support and violating the US Neutrality Act by taking part in an illicit military operation abroad.
They face possible life sentences.
The four men were linked to CTU, a Florida-based private security company. Federal prosecutors said they had been drawn into the plot by the prospect of securing lucrative contracts if Moise was removed from power.
Eleven people have already been indicted in US courts in connection with the assassination, which American authorities have jurisdiction to prosecute because parts of the alleged plot were organised on US soil.
Haiti has since descended further into political and security turmoil and currently has no president.
The country is due to hold its first presidential and legislative elections since 2016 on 13 December, alongside a constitutional referendum, if security conditions permit.
Gangs are estimated to control about 80% of Port-au-Prince, where kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings remain widespread.
A UN-backed armed force supporting Haitian police against the gangs is also not expected to be fully staffed by October as originally planned, its spokesman said earlier this month.