Eighteen suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise have been transported to Florida to stand trial, US officials said Sunday.

“Today’s multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI’s continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice,” FBI special agent Brett Skiles said on X.

In the same post, federal prosecutor Jason Reding Quinones said: “18 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 wrote, adding that 30 suspects have thus far been indicted in the killing.

Family members attend the funeral for slain Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, on July 23, 2021, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, the main city in his native northern region. – Moïse, 53, was shot dead in his home in the early hours of July 7. (Photo by Valerie Baeriswyl / AFP)

Among those extradited is a main suspect in the probe — Joseph Felix Badio, a former anti-corruption official at Haiti’s Ministry of Justice, Haitian government and police sources told AFP.

The others are Colombian mercenaries, according to the same sources.

Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement Sunday saying it is closely monitoring “the transfer of 17 Colombian citizens from the Republic of Haiti to the United States.”

It said Bogota “did not intervene in the decision or in the process that led to the transfer of its citizens to the United States, a matter that falls under the jurisdiction of the competent authorities of the countries involved.”

Marielle Moise speaks during the funeral for her brother, slain Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, on July 23, 2021, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, the main city in his native northern region. Moïse, 53, was shot dead in his home in the early hours of July 7.
Valerie Baeriswyl / AFP

In May, four men were convicted in a federal court in Miami of charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moise, conspiracy to provide material support, and violating the US Neutrality Act to engage in an illicit military operation abroad.

The men face possible sentences of life in prison.

All four were linked to CTU, a private security firm based in Florida, and lured into the plot by the prospect of securing lucrative contracts in the event of Moise’s ouster, according to federal prosecutors.

Mourners attend the funeral of slain Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 23, 2021, in Cap-Haitien, Haiti, the main city in his native northern region. – Moïse, 53, was shot dead in his home in the early hours of July 7. (Photo by Valerie Baeriswyl / AFP)

Eleven people have already been indicted in connection with the assassination in US courts, which have jurisdiction over plots hatched on American soil.

Haiti has spiraled into deeper chaos since Moise’s killing, and currently has no president.

It is preparing to hold its first presidential and legislative election since 2016, as well as a referendum on the constitution, on December 13 — if security conditions allow.

In this file photo taken on May 23, 2018, Haitian President Jovenel Moise (L) and Haitian First Lady Martine Moise are seen at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. HECTOR RETAMAL / AFP
In this file photo taken on May 23, 2018, Haitian President Jovenel Moise (L) and Haitian First Lady Martine Moise are seen at the National Palace in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. HÉCTOR RETAMAL / AFP

Gangs control around 80 per cent of Port-au-Prince, and violent crimes such as kidnappings for ransom, armed robbery and carjackings plague the impoverished nation.

A United Nations-backed armed force tasked with helping local police combat gangs will not be fully staffed by October as planned, its spokesman said earlier this month.

AFP