Haiti extradites 18 suspects in assassination of president to US
Eighteen suspects, including Colombian ex-soldiers and a former Haitian official, have been extradited to the US to face trial for the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise. US prosecutors are leading the case due to the collapse of the Haitian justice system and allegations that the plot was orchestrated from Florida.
Why it matters
This case highlights the ongoing instability in Haiti and the role of international legal intervention in addressing political violence in failed states.
Image source, AFP via Getty Images Image caption, Haiti has been engulfed in a wave of gang violence since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise
Eighteen people have been flown from Haiti to the US state of Florida to stand trial for their alleged involvement in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise five years ago.
Moise was shot dead at his home in the capital, Port-au-Prince, in July 2021, allegedly by a group of mainly Colombian mercenaries.
Previous Haitian investigations into the assassination have stalled due to widespread gang control and lawlessness in the country.
The extradition was "the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability" over the presidential assassination, US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Jason Reding Quiñones, said in a post on X.
"Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished," Quiñones said on X.
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