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Haiti sends 18 suspects in President Moïse's 2021 killing to Florida for trial
September 21, 2026
Eighteen suspects in the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse are flown from Haiti to Florida on a military plane to face trial in US federal court.
Jovenel Moïse, Haiti's elected president, was assassinated at his home in July 2021 at age 53, and the Caribbean country, where gang control is widespread, currently has no president.
Key facts
- After a Haitian appeals court ordered a fresh inquiry into the killing of Moïse, the third since he was shot 12 times at home in an attack in July 2021 that also wounded his wife, justice officials sought help from the US and Canada in October 2025.
- In Haiti, the UN Integrated Office counted at least 1,408 people killed and 656 injured from April to June this year.
- Haiti sent 18 people arrested over the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse to the US on Sunday, closing a long court process at home in a case that stunned the Caribbean nation.
- The 18 people held over the July 2021 killing of President Jovenel Moïse were on their way from Haiti to the US on Sunday to answer charges in Florida.
Haiti hands 18 suspects in the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse to the US, and a military plane carries them to Florida to face trial. NPR reports the extraditions on Sunday and presents them as the close of a long Haitian court process in a killing that stunned the Caribbean country. The BBC quotes Jason Reding Quiñones, US Attorney for Florida's southern district, who wrote on X that the extradition was "the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability" in the case. The Guardian carries a second line from the same post, in which the prosecutor says the 18 were flown by military plane to face American justice in Florida, along with a statement from FBI special agent Brett Skiles tying arrests in several locations and countries to the bureau's resolve to bring every participant in the plot to justice. Haiti's Ministry of Justice and Public Security says, in a statement NPR carries, that it surrendered the suspects "to allow for their trial." Reuters also reports that the suspects were flown to the US to stand trial.
The BBC reports that the men face possible life sentences on charges that include conspiring to kill or kidnap Moïse and conspiring to give material support to the killing. US prosecutors allege, according to the BBC, that the plot was planned and financed from Florida, from the Dominican Republic and from Haiti itself. NPR reports that US prosecutions and sentencing of other suspects in the case continue. Those who have already pleaded guilty in US federal court include, according to NPR, a Haitian-Chilean businessman who once informed for the US government and a retired officer of the Colombian army, and a jury convicted others of plotting to kill or kidnap the elected leader and of giving the plot material support.
Haiti's own investigations stalled under widespread gang control and lawlessness, the BBC reports. NPR reports that in October 2025 Haitian justice officials sought US and Canadian help after a local appeals court ordered a new investigation, the third such inquiry since Moïse was shot 12 times at home in an attack that also wounded his wife. Key fugitives include Dimitri Hérard, the former head of security at the National Palace, who escaped two years ago when a gang federation stormed the country's two largest prisons, according to NPR. The Guardian reports that Haiti currently has no president and is preparing presidential and legislative elections, its first since 2016, and a constitutional referendum for December 13, if security conditions allow. The BBC cites the UN Integrated Office in Haiti for at least 1,408 people killed and 656 injured from April to June this year, and The Guardian notes that no more recent figures have been disclosed. The handover of the 18 and the charges they face are corroborated across the BBC, NPR and The Guardian, while the Florida trial, the fugitives and Haiti's third inquiry are still developing.
Jason Reding Quinones, a federal prosecutor, wrote on X, “18 transported in military plane from Haiti to face American justice in the southern district of Florida.”
Jason Reding Quinones
Still developing
The suspects face trial in Florida, and the case's key fugitives include Dimitri Hérard, once head of security at the National Palace, who escaped after a gang federation stormed the country's biggest prisons.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- BBC — Haiti extradites 18 suspects in assassination of president to US
- npr.org — 18 suspects accused in the 2021 killing of Haiti's president being extradited to U.S.
- The Guardian — More than a dozen arrested in connection with 2021 assassination of Haitian president
Toggle read the full reports of 3 of the 4 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.