PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Nineteen individuals linked to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021 were scheduled to appear in court on Monday. Their defense attorneys expressed hope for their release. However, a judge once again postponed the hearing, citing unidentified reasons for the delay.
The group consists of 17 Colombian nationals, all of whom are ex-soldiers, along with two Haitians. They were waiting for their cases to be heard in a private residence in an affluent neighborhood of Port-au-Prince due to a recent spike in gang violence that prompted the closure of the Court of Appeals in the city center.
After hours of anticipation, the judge arrived and announced that the case would be rescheduled for later in the month. “We were optimistic about the release of our clients,” remarked Nathalie Delisca, the attorney representing the Colombian suspects. Delisca chose not to disclose their current detention location, as many prisoners escaped during gang raids on Haiti’s largest prisons nearly a year ago, including where these suspects were held.
Delisca emphasized that her clients did not attempt to flee with other inmates because they maintain their innocence. “They had nothing to do with the killing of Jovenel,” she said. Among those in attendance at the hearing were former Jacmel mayor Macky Kessa and Joseph Badio, a former official with Haiti’s Ministry of Justice who had previously been dismissed for alleged ethical violations before the assassination. Badio, considered a key suspect, was arrested in October 2023 and left the courtroom with assistance from Kessa, although details regarding his health have not been disclosed.
Attorneys representing the Colombian detainees had earlier criticized the dire conditions they experienced in the National Penitentiary, citing a lack of sufficient food and water. However, those present in court appeared to be in good health. In a statement issued in December, Colombia’s consul in Port-au-Prince mentioned that the suspects were now being held in a different, more humane environment.
As the legal proceedings in Haiti seem stagnant, U.S. authorities have taken action against other suspects involved in the assassination. A Miami judge sentenced former Haitian senator John Joel Joseph to life imprisonment in December 2023 for conspiring to murder Moïse, who was shot multiple times at his residence, leading to a severe political upheaval in Haiti. Additionally, life sentences were handed down to Colombian army officer Germán Alejandro Rivera García, Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar, and former U.S. informant Joseph Vincent.
To date, over 40 individuals have been detained in connection with the case, but none have faced trial in Haiti thus far.
