After midnight in Pèlerin: Five years after Jovenel Moïse’s assassination, justice remains elusive

The killing of Haiti's president, the suspects scattered across borders, the convicted — and a justice system that still cannot find his phone. § 01 — The Night Jovenel Moïse won 56% of the vote in Haiti's 2016 elections. Critics called him an autocrat; allies called him a reformer fighting an entrenched oligarchy. On the night of July 6, 2021, he went to sleep in his hilltop home above Port-au-Prince. As he slumbered, a commando of more than two dozen men moved through his gate. Gunfire erupted. By the time it ended, the president was dead, the first lady lay bleeding on their bedroom floor and Haiti was in freefall. Five years later, four Miami convictions, no trial in Haiti — and the mastermind is still unknown. § 1.5 — THE DAYS OF CHAOS The night of terror gave way to an avalanche of fear by daybreak, as people around the country wondered if they were safe. Questions and conspiracies mounted. As the world awakened on the morning of July 7, they saw the news of the president's death. A viral clip captured a voice in the dark claiming to be American drug agents. Neighbors described men in ski masks speaking Spanish and English. The DEA denied any operation. Haitian Times ↗Early bulletins reported Martine Moïse killed. Hours later, local news confirmed she was alive and would be evacuated abroad. She landed in a Miami hospital to undergo lifesaving surgery. Haitian Times ↗Interim PM Claude Joseph declared a 15-day state of siege. The Dominican Republic sealed its border. JetBlue, American and Sunrise Airways cancelled Haiti flights. Haitian Times ↗Disarmament coordinator Jean-Rebel Dorcénat and two others were stopped in Belladère heading toward the Dominican Republic next door. It was never made clear whether the arrest was tied to the killing. But it, like a slew of other developments, was enough to raise questions about who was behind the killing. Haitian Times ↗Former senator Moïse Jean-Charles's residence was ransacked and set on fire the same day — a warning shot in the political vacuum that followed. Haitian Times ↗Haitian investigators named Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Boynton Beach physician, as a "central figure" in the plot. Neighbors were as surprised as anyone. His website, haitilivesmatter.com, went dark. Haitian Times ↗§ 02 — A four-year timeline A heavily armed commando enters President Jovenel Moïse's private residence in Pèlerin 5, above Port-au-Prince. Moïse, 53, is shot multiple times in his bedroom. First Lady Martine Moïse is gravely wounded. Haitian Times ↗Interim Prime Minister Claude Joseph announces the killing. Soldiers and civilians corner the alleged hit squad in the hills, made up of Colombian ex-soldiers turned mercenaries. Two are killed; 18 are captured alive. Haitian Times ↗Suspects include Haitian American dual citizens, Colombian mercenaries and Haitian police officials. Lead suspect Joseph Félix Badio remains a fugitive. Haitian Times ↗Chief prosecutor Bed-Ford Claude requests charges against then-acting PM Ariel Henry and issues a travel ban. Within days, Claude is dismissed. U.S. prosecutors charge 11 people, including Mario Antonio Palacios Palacios. Rodolphe Jaar, John Joël Joseph and Germán Rivera are convicted and sentenced to life. Judge Walther Wesser Voltaire — the fifth judge on the case — indicts 51 people, including former First Lady Martine Moïse, ex-PM Claude Joseph and ex-police chief Léon Charles. Haitian Times ↗Former presidential security chief Dimitri Hérard walks out of the National Penitentiary during a gang-led assault on the prison that sent thousands on the lam. He remains at large. Haiti's Court of Appeal annuls Voltaire's indictment order, citing procedural flaws, and reassigns the case to investigating Judge Denis Cyprien. Haitian Times ↗The FBI interviews Colombian suspects held in Haiti without notifying Haitian prosecutors — raising fresh concerns about the country's sovereignty and evidence-chain procedures in the local case. Haitian Times ↗Jury selection opens for Solages, Intriago, Pretel Ortiz and Veintemilla. Judge Jacqueline Becerra grants Christian Emmanuel Sanon a separate case from the group for medical reasons; his trial is postponed indefinitely. As of July 7, court records show Sanon's attorneys had until July 6 to file a motion for judgment of acquittal. The former first lady, wounded in the 2021 attack, takes the stand in Miami federal court and describes the assault that killed her husband. Haitian Times ↗A federal jury finds James Solages, Antonio Intriago, Arcángel Pretel Ortiz and Walter Veintemilla guilty after a nearly two-month trial. All four face potential life sentences. Haitian Times ↗Judge Cyprien questions Pierre Espérance, executive director of the human rights organization RNDDH, and André Jonas Vladimir Paraison, acting director of the Haitian National Police (PNH) — who was in the presidential security unit the night of the attack — as the reopened Haitian probe widens. Haitian Times ↗§ 03 — The convicted In sharp contrast to Haiti's stalled investigation, a Miami federal jury convicted four more defendants on May 8, 2026 — bringing U.S. convictions to ten. Only Christian Emmanuel Sanon still awaits a separate trial, delayed by an undisclosed illness. Haitian-Chilean businessman Pleaded guilty to conspiracy and admitted financing weapons, vehicles and lodging for the Colombian mercenaries. Former Haitian senator Attended planning meetings and helped coordinate logistics for the Colombian assault team. Colombian ex-soldier Pleaded guilty to conspiring to kill Moïse as part of the Colombian commando team that entered the residence. Haitian American, ex-DEA informant Pleaded guilty to helping the team breach the presidential residence and serving as an interpreter. Colombian ex-military A Colombian ex-soldier extradited to the U.S. who pleaded guilty to his role in the mercenary unit. U.S. citizen Pleaded guilty to making false statements to acquire firearms and equipment for the operation. Haitian American, alleged operational lead Convicted as an operational coordinator who helped direct the assault team on the ground. Director, CTU Security (Miami) Convicted for recruiting Colombian mercenaries through his Miami security firm and arranging their travel. Colombian-American former agent Convicted of helping recruit Colombian operatives and coordinate their logistics through CTU Security. Financier, Worldwide Capital Lending Convicted of helping funnel money to finance the assassination plot through his lending firm. Florida-based Haitian American physician once floated by the plotters as Moïse's replacement. On Mar 9, 2026, Judge Jacqueline Becerra severed his case from the four co-defendants for medical reasons; no new trial date has been set as of mid-2026. Haitian judges have stepped down from the case — citing threats, poor security, or a lack of resources. Colombian ex-soldiers captured the day after the killing. Most remain detained in Port-au-Prince without trial. Spent by Haiti's government on Colombian President Gustavo Petro's 2025 visit, during which he apologized for his country's role. § 04 — Why the case has stalled Moïse's phone has never been recovered. The surveillance server from the presidential residence was handed by Haitian police to U.S. authorities. Former First Lady Martine Moïse, now in the U.S., has refused to come back to Haiti for hearings, citing safety concerns. Ex-security chief Dimitri Hérard escaped during a gang-led prison break. Judge Wendelle Coq Thélot, herself indicted, died before she could be deposed. Gang control of Port-au-Prince has shut down judicial operations for months at a time. Each new judge inherits a case that has cooled. "No judge has access to the surveillance server from the presidential residence, as the PNH authorities handed the device over to the Americans. It's sad." § 4.5 — What the Miami trial did not answer Drawn from The Haitian Times' May 4, 2026 analysis of the closing arguments in the Miami federal trial. After eight weeks of testimony, neither prosecutors nor the defense named a mastermind. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean McLaughlin argued the defendants "wanted to seize power and get rich." But the source of the command was never established in open court. Prosecutors say Badio's alleged role escalated the plot from kidnapping to assassination. He is jailed in Haiti. "The Haitian government has been requesting that the U.S. take Badio for months, if not years, and the U.S. has refused," defense lawyer Marissel Descalzo told the court. Former President Michel Martelly and ex-PM Ariel Henry — appointed by Moïse days before the killing — surfaced repeatedly in testimony. Both now live in the U.S. Neither has been charged, indicted in Haiti, or called to testify in Miami. Parts of the case were sealed under the Classified Information Procedures Act. One defendant was a former DEA informant. RTVC's Patrick Moussignac said the opacity is "embedded in U.S. procedures … including potential links between certain suspects and U.S. intelligence agencies." Testimony pointed to alleged bribes inside the presidential security detail. Witnesses questioned why so few guards were present. No guard has been convicted in either country. The defense argued the Colombians were escorting a "lawful arrest" under a Haitian judge's warrant — and that Moïse had been killed by his own guards before they entered. The judge who signed the warrant, Jean Roger Noelcius, testified it was illegal on its face. "We walked into a fairly impossible situation. Once you get off on the wrong foot, everything that comes after is hard to trust." § 05 — Reporting Independent journalism on Haiti and its diaspora. Follow each link to read the full article. § 06 — Coda Jovenel Moïse was killed in his bedroom on July 7, 2021. Five years later, the case has produced ten U.S. convictions, but no satisfactory answer to the key questions Haitians really want to know: who ordered it? And why? His phone is still missing. His surveillance server is in American hands. Five Haitian judges have resigned from the file. One of the accused, a sitting magistrate, died before she could be deposed. Another walked out of the National Penitentiary during a gang raid and vanished. The government that followed Moïse's death has also met its demise, in many ways. There is no elected president. There is no functioning parliament. The Transitional Presidential Council fights itself. Ministries operate from hotel rooms. Gangs hold most of Port-au-Prince, including the road to the courthouse where the Moïse file is meant to be heard. The president was murdered. The republic now lies beside him.