Trials Resume in Miami for Those Accused in Haiti President's Assassination

Five years after the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, dozens of people arrested in connection with the killing are still awaiting trial in Miami. U.S. prosecutors have charged more than 40 individuals in connection with the assassination, and a dozen have already been convicted, including five serving life sentences.

Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Florida pastor and dual Haitian-American citizen accused of aspiring to lead Haiti, is scheduled to be the next to stand trial. He faces eight charges related to the assassination, including conspiracy to kidnap or kill a person outside the U.S., and has pleaded not guilty.

Federal prosecutors allege that South Florida served as a central hub for planning and financing the plot to remove Moïse and install a preferred successor. Haiti, the poorest country in the Americas, has a long history of political instability that has hindered democratic consolidation.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when approximately two dozen foreign mercenaries, primarily from Colombia, attacked his home near the capital, Port-au-Prince. Court records indicate that funds for the mercenaries were obtained from U.S. government programs intended for COVID-19 business relief.

In 2025, Haitian justice officials requested assistance from the U.S. and Canada following a court order for a new investigation into Moïse's killing. This marks the third inquiry into the assassination, during which Moïse was shot 12 times at his private residence. His wife, Martine, was also wounded in the attack.

Previous investigations in Haiti have been hampered by the resignation of judges who feared for their safety and by gang control over the courthouse in Port-au-Prince. The country's Ministry of Justice and Public Security has noted that proceedings in Haiti continue to face significant difficulties, with gang violence displacing approximately 1.5 million people and causing over 3,000 deaths this year as of June, according to the United Nations.

The plan to oust Moïse reportedly began taking shape in April 2021, when Sanon met with a former Haitian senator and several U.S. businessmen in South Florida. According to an indictment, the group agreed that Sanon would award contracts to Florida-based Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security (CTU) for infrastructure, security forces, and military equipment once in power. CTU initially hired about 18 Colombian nationals with military training to provide security for Sanon.

By June 2021, the conspirators recognized that Sanon lacked the constitutional qualifications and popular support to become president. They then shifted their backing to Wendelle Coq Thélot, a former Haitian Superior Court judge who died in January 2025 while still a fugitive.

Martine Moïse testified earlier this year at the trial of four men convicted in the conspiracy, describing the attack. She recounted waking to gunfire around 3 a.m. and hearing her husband say, "Honey, we are dead." She described crawling downstairs to check on her children and returning to the bedroom where she and Jovenel Moïse used the floor on either side of the bed for protection. She stated that men entered the room and opened fire, speaking in Spanish before shooting her husband multiple times. After the attackers left, she discovered that the approximately 30 to 50 assigned security officers were absent, having been paid to leave their posts.

Sanon's trial was initially scheduled with four other men convicted earlier this year but was separated and delayed due to health reasons. Prosecutors claim Sanon helped raise funds for the conspiracy and arranged travel and lodging in Haiti for himself and others.

Recently, Joseph Badio, a former employee of Haiti's Ministry of Justice, and 17 others identified as Colombian mercenaries were transported to the U.S. from Haiti. They are among the latest defendants charged in connection with the assassination.