A former Haitian justice official and 17 Colombian suspects have appeared in Miami federal court over the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Five years later, the case has acquired another courtroom full of defendants while Haiti still waits for the whole story.
Joseph Badio and the other men were transferred from Haiti to the United States and added to a prosecution that now charges 30 people. Prosecutors allege that planning, financing and recruitment occurred in South Florida.
An indictment is an allegation
The new defendants are presumed innocent. Badio is accused of helping direct the operation; many of the Colombian men have said they believed they were participating in a lawful mission rather than an assassination.
The expanded indictment may affect the defense of Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American who was already preparing for trial and whom prosecutors say hoped to become president.
Haiti’s broken courts shaped the transfer
Gang violence, threats against judges and courthouse seizures stalled proceedings in Haiti. Moving suspects to the United States advances one case while underscoring the collapse of judicial capacity in the country where the killing occurred.
The Associated Press reported the defendants’ appearance and the expanded indictment.
A larger docket may produce more evidence, but accountability requires more than assembling everyone under fluorescent courtroom lights. It requires proving who planned, financed and carried out the murder.
Facts first. Side-eye included.
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Dana Side-Eye
Receipts, Rumors & Internet NonsenseDana reads the fine print, checks the timeline, and keeps one eyebrow permanently raised. She covers viral claims, internet pile-ons, and suspiciously convenient explanations.
“Screenshots are forever. So is the side-eye.”