Eighteen suspects in Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s 2021 assassination are set to be extradited to the United States.
asserted
suspects → set → States
Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, said that 30 suspects in the assassination had been indicted, and 18 of those were being transported to the U.S. in a military plane.
asserted
18 → say → plane
“Today marks the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.
asserted
Today → mark → Moïse
Our work did not end with the men who planned and carried out this assassination.
asserted
who → end → assassination
We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to those who financed it, facilitated it, supported it, or committed crimes to make it possible,” he said.
asserted
he → follow → crimes
“Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished,” Quiñones added.
asserted
Quiñones → bring → courts
FBI Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles said Moïse was assassinated by “individuals seeking to profit from illicit financial opportunities and business contracts.”
On the night of July 7, 2021, a heavily armed group of over two dozen commandos entered Moïse’s hilltop residence and easily made their way to his room.
asserted
group → say → room
His body was found riddled with 12 bullet holes of various calibers, and his wife was severely wounded.
asserted
wife → find → calibers
She was rushed to the U.S. for treatment.
asserted
She → rush → treatment
In the hours after the attack, the commando team was hunted down by Haitian police and soldiers.
asserted
team → hunt → police
Four were killed, and within the next few days 18 were captured, out of an estimated team of 28.
asserted
18 → kill → 28
Of those, 26 were retired Colombian soldiers hired as mercenaries, and two were Haitian-Americans.
asserted
two → retire → mercenaries
The shocking murder is widely cited as the official beginning of Haiti’s period of anarchy, with governmental authority all but completely collapsing.
asserted
authority → cite → anarchy
True power now lies in the hands of heavily armed gangs operating as warlords, who have carried out countless killings and massacres.
asserted
who → lie → killings
Moïse’s assassination is still shrouded in mystery over five years later.
asserted
assassination → shroud → mystery
Exactly who planned and carried out the operation, what their actual goal was, the events surrounding the killing, and how the team was able to easily enter the president’s residence remain disputed.
asserted
team → plan → residence
U.S. prosecutors believe the operation was planned and assisted from South Florida, and the lack of any fight from the president’s guards suggests an inside job.
uncertain
lack → believe → job
Despite the unknowns in the case, prosecutions have continued to the current day.
asserted
prosecutions → continue → day
At least 51 people have been indicted by Haiti over the killing, but none have been tried due to the collapse of central authority.
asserted
none → indict → authority
All successful trials have taken place in the U.S., which has complained of the glacial pace of Haitian justice.
asserted
which → take → justice
In the U.S., five defendants have already pleaded guilty this year and are serving life sentences.
asserted
defendants → plead → sentences
Another defendant accused of providing body armor to the assassination squad was sentenced to nine years in prison.
asserted
defendant → accuse → prison
The Aporia
