Haiti prepares December election as gangs hold 80% of Port-au-Prince
The FBI and federal prosecutors brought the 18 suspects to the United States on a military plane to face charges in the Southern District of Florida, according to statements Skiles and Quinones posted Sunday on X.
“Today’s multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI’s continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice,” Skiles said.
Quinones wrote that “18 transported in military plane from Haiti to face American justice in the southern district of Florida.” He added: “Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished.”
The arrests come more than five years after Moïse, 53, was shot dead at his private residence on 7 July 2021. A group of about 20 military-trained Colombian mercenaries carried out the killing. Moïse’s security detail did not intervene to protect him.
Eleven people have already been indicted in US courts, which hold jurisdiction over plots hatched on American soil. Five of those 11 have been sentenced to life in prison, including a former Colombian soldier, a former Haitian senator, a Haitian Chilean businessman, a retired Colombian soldier, and a Haitian American. With the latest arrests, Quinones said the total number of suspects indicted in the killing now stands at 30.
In May, a federal jury in Miami convicted four men on charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moïse, conspiracy to provide material support, and violating the US Neutrality Act by engaging in an illicit military operation abroad. The four face possible sentences of life in prison.
Federal prosecutors said the four were linked to CTU, a private security firm based in Florida, and were lured into the plot by the prospect of securing lucrative contracts in the event of Moïse’s ouster.
The killing sparked political upheaval in Haiti, which has not had a sitting president since. The country is preparing to hold its first presidential and legislative election since 2016, along with a constitutional referendum, on 13 December — if security conditions permit.
Gangs currently control about 80% of Port-au-Prince. Kidnappings for ransom, armed robberies, and carjackings plague the impoverished nation.
A UN-backed armed force tasked with helping local police combat gangs will not be fully staffed by October as originally planned, the force’s spokesperson said earlier this month. The Gang Suppression Force, announced by the UN Security Council last year, was expected to ramp up between April and October to a planned capacity of 5,500 uniformed personnel and 50 civilian staff. As of July, the force comprised fewer than 1,000 personnel drawn from Chad, Mongolia, Jamaica, Guatemala, El Salvador and Sri Lanka. More recent figures have not been disclosed.