Ex-Haitian official, 17 others appear in US court involving 2021 plot to kill Haitian president

MIAMI (AP) — A former Haitian government official and more than a dozen other people appeared Monday in federal court in Miami on charges related to the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

Joseph Badio, a former Haiti Ministry of Justice employee, was brought into the Florida court in a wheelchair. The hearing happened a day after he and 17 others described as Colombian mercenaries were flown to the United States from Haiti where they had been in custody.

South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust Moïse and replace him with someone of the conspirators’ choosing, U.S. authorities have alleged. At least nine people so far have been convicted at trial or through guilty pleas.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince. Moïse’s wife, Martine, was wounded during the attack.

Badio posed as a U.S. drug agent and participated in Moise’s killing, according to the indictment. He’s charged with conspiracy. A lawyer appointed to temporarily represent him could not immediately be reached for comment.

Badio once worked in the government’s anti-corruption unit until he was fired for alleged ethics violations weeks before the assassination.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid assigned lawyers and set additional court dates during a series of brief dialogues with each of the 18 defendants.

On Sunday, Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security said that it surrendered the suspects to the U.S. “to allow for their trial.”

Any proceedings in Haiti “continue to face significant difficulties,” the statement said.