The investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse began almost immediately, with Haitian police arresting dozens of suspects in the days following the July 7 attack. The suspects included a significant number of former Colombian military officers who had been recruited through a private security company, as well as several Haitian Americans, including two men who had worked with US law enforcement.
The presence of Colombian military veterans and Haitian Americans among the perpetrators pointed to an operation organized outside Haiti, funded by sources with significant resources, and planned over an extended period. The sophistication of the operation — the false identities used to gain access, the coordination of multiple teams, the equipment employed — was beyond what domestic criminal networks could typically mount.
Haitian and American investigators worked to trace the chain of command and financing behind the assassination. In the United States, federal prosecutors would eventually bring charges against multiple individuals connected to the plot, including Haitian-American businessmen alleged to have organized and financed the operation with aspirations of seizing political power in the aftermath of Moïse’s death.
In Haiti, the investigation was complicated by the country’s dysfunctional judicial system, the insecurity that made witness protection nearly impossible, and the political implications of pursuing a case that led to powerful figures. Several years after the assassination, the full picture of who had ordered the killing and why remained a matter of ongoing legal proceedings and contested claims in multiple jurisdictions.