Four key suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise have been extradited to the United States for trial, officials said, as the case stalled in Haiti amid death threats against local judges, The Guardian reported.

The suspects in custody include James Solages, 37, and Joseph Vincent, 57, two Haitian-Americans who were among the first to be arrested after Moise was shot 12 times on July 7 at his private home near the capital Port-au-Prince. 2021 year.

Also charged is Christian Emmanuel Sanon, an elderly pastor, doctor and businessman who authorities have identified as a key player.

His associates suggested he had been duped by the true — and still unknown — masterminds of the assassination, which plunged Haiti into deep political chaos and unleashed a level of gang violence not seen in decades.

The fourth suspect was identified as Colombian national Herman Rivera Garcia, 44, who is one of nearly two dozen former Colombian soldiers charged in the case.

The US Department of Justice said that Rivera, as well as Solages and Vincent, face charges including conspiracy to commit murder or kidnapping outside the US and providing material support and resources to cause death.

Sanon is charged with conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States and providing illegal export information. Court documents show he allegedly shipped 20 ballistic vests to Haiti, but the items shipped were described as “medical X-ray vests and school supplies.”

The men are scheduled to appear in federal court in Miami on Wednesday.

In total, seven suspects in this case are in custody in the United States. However, dozens of others are still being held in Haiti’s main prison, which is said to be severely overcrowded and often without food or water for inmates.

In Haiti, the case has effectively reached an impasse, and local officials last year appointed a fifth judge to investigate the killing after four others were dismissed or resigned for personal reasons.

One of the judges told The Associated Press that his family asked him not to take the case because they feared for his life. Another judge resigned after the death of one of his assistants under unexplained circumstances.

Haitian police said other high-ranking suspects are still at large, including a former Supreme Court judge who authorities say helped usurp power from Moises. Another fugitive is Joseph Badiou, the alleged ringleader of the plot, who previously worked for Haiti’s Justice Ministry and the government’s anti-corruption unit until he was fired, according to police.

(source: news.ro)