30 Indicted in U.S. Over Role in 2021 Assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse
U.S. officials announced indictments against 30 individuals accused of participating in the plot to kill President Jovenel Moïse, citing financial gain as a primary motive.
Thirty individuals have been indicted for their alleged roles in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, according to U.S. officials.
U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quinones stated that the indictments represent a significant step in the pursuit of justice for the assassination. Moïse was killed at his home in Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021, during an attack where assailants raided his private residence. His wife, Martine Moïse, survived the incident.
The indictment alleges that Colombian mercenaries, posing as agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), carried out the assassination for financial gain. An 85-page indictment details how some of the individuals involved were brought to the United States on a military plane, escorted by agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations.
According to the court record, the mercenaries were not dispatched by any nation or state on official duty, but rather were motivated by a desire for private gain and participated in a planned coup d'état and armed hostilities in Haiti. The indictment further states that U.S.-based companies, in exchange for future infrastructure and security contracts, recruited and funded these mercenaries and others, participating in the plot that included the planned killing or kidnapping of President Moïse.
These companies allegedly utilized Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) proceeds to facilitate these actions. The mercenaries reportedly used equipment procured in the United States and are also accused of defrauding the U.S. government through PPP loans.
Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office stated that the arrests underscore the FBI's commitment to holding all participants in the plot accountable. "Today's multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI's continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice," Skiles said. "FBI Miami, along with our domestic and international partners, remain steadfast in ensuring that all individuals who allegedly sought to profit from the assassination of a head of state are held fully accountable."
Attorneys for the indicted individuals were not immediately available.