Nineteen suspects accused in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse arrived at a courthouse in Haiti on Monday, where defense attorneys had hoped for their release. However, their hearing was once again postponed by a judge. The 17 Colombians, all former soldiers, along with two Haitians, were initially waiting in a private residence in an upscale area of Port-au-Prince, as gang violence in the city had forced the temporary closure of the Court of Appeals.
After several hours, the judge arrived and announced that the hearing would be rescheduled for later this month, citing undisclosed reasons for the delay.
“We hoped for the release of our clients,” said Nathalie Delisca, attorney for the 17 Colombians detained in the case.
Defense attorney Delisca declined to disclose the current locations of the suspects she represents in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. Nearly a year ago, gangs raided Haiti’s two largest prisons, freeing thousands of inmates, including those held at the National Penitentiary, where many of the Moïse case suspects were previously incarcerated.
Delisca emphasized that her clients did not attempt to escape with the other prisoners, stating, “They are not guilty. They had nothing to do with the killing of Jovenel.”
Also present at Monday’s hearing were former Jacmel mayor Macky Kessa and Joseph Badio, a former employee of Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and its anti-corruption unit. Badio, who was fired for alleged ethics violations before the assassination, is considered one of the main suspects in the case. He was arrested in October 2023.
Badio limped out of the hearing with assistance from Kessa, though the details of his health condition were not immediately disclosed.
Previously, attorneys for the Colombian suspects had criticized the deplorable conditions at the National Penitentiary, where many were initially held. In a December statement, Colombia’s consulate in Port-au-Prince revealed that the suspects are now being detained at an undisclosed location, where they are reportedly being held in “much more dignified and favorable conditions.”
While the case against the suspects detained in Haiti remains at a standstill, U.S. authorities have made progress, charging and sentencing several individuals involved in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. In December 2023, a Miami judge sentenced former Haitian senator John Joel Joseph to life in prison for his role in conspiring to kill Moïse at his private residence on July 7, 2021. Moïse was shot at least a dozen times, triggering a political crisis in Haiti.
Also sentenced to life in prison were Colombian army officer Germán Alejandro Rivera García, Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar, and former U.S. government informant Joseph Vincent.
To date, more than 40 suspects have been arrested in connection with the assassination, but none of the suspects in Haiti have yet gone to trial.
