18 Suspects in Haiti President Jovenel Moïse Assassination Await US Extradition

Eighteen Suspects Await Extradition to Florida

Eighteen suspects arrested in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse were awaiting extradition to the United States on Sunday.

Pending Transfers and Those Remaining in Haiti

The suspects scheduled for extradition will face trial in Florida, according to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones. Federal officials have not publicly identified the individual suspects awaiting transfer in this latest group. Yet, upwards of a dozen Colombian soldiers along with one former official from the Haitian government are still held in Haiti to face trial.

U.S. Officials Vow to Follow the Evidence

“Today marks the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse,” Jason Reding Quiñones wrote in a statement published to X.

“We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to those who financed it, facilitated it, supported it or committed crimes to make it possible. Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles noted that multiple arrests occurred in the United States and abroad on Sunday. He affirmed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and its partner organizations remain fully committed to bringing every person allegedly seeking financial gain from a head of state’s assassination to complete justice under the law.

Ongoing Prosecutions and Recent Convictions

The upcoming extraditions run parallel to ongoing U.S. prosecutions and sentencings related to the conspiracy. In May, a Florida jury convicted four men for their roles in the killing, and at least five others previously pleaded guilty and are currently serving life sentences.

Those convicted by the Florida jury include Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages. Despite their not guilty pleas, the panel of jurors determined they were guilty of supplying material aid to the conspiracy that cut short President Jovenel Moïse’s life, as well as plotting to kidnap or kill Haiti’s democratically chosen leader.