Christian Emmanuel Sanon is due to stand trial in Miami Monday over the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. He faces eight charges, including conspiracy to kidnap or kill a person outside the U.S., and has pleaded not guilty.
Haiti has not had a president since Moïse was killed. U.S. prosecutors say South Florida was central to planning and financing the plot to oust him and replace him with someone chosen by the conspirators; they say Sanon helped raise money and arrange travel and lodging. More than 40 people have been charged in the U.S., and 12 have been convicted, including five serving life sentences. The latest defendants charged include former Haitian Justice Ministry employee Joseph Badio and 17 people described as Colombian mercenaries, recently transported from Haiti to the U.S.
In 2025, Haitian justice officials asked the U.S. and Canada for help after a local appeals court ordered a third investigation into Moïse’s killing. Earlier inquiries stalled as judges resigned for fear of their lives and gangs took control of the downtown Port-au-Prince courthouse; the justice ministry recently said proceedings in Haiti still face significant difficulties.
