International

Four South Florida men were found guilty on Friday of conspiring to kidnap or kill Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse, who was assassinated in his home outside Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021, plunging the Caribbean country deeper into political turmoil and gang-fueled chaos. The verdict, delivered by a 12-member jury in federal court in Miami, came nearly five years after the assassination, following 39 days of testimony over almost nine weeks. The jury spent just over two days deliberating, after sending a question to the judge about one of the nine charges related to the shipment of bulletproof vests to mercenaries in Haiti, a country under a U.S. arms embargo.

The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Albert R. Ramdin, today presented an update to member states on the Organization’s work in support of Haiti, highlighting concrete progress in political facilitation, electoral preparation, security support, international coordination, and strengthening the Organization’s institutional presence in the country. During his remarks, the Secretary General underscored that the OAS’s efforts have focused on supporting Haitian-led solutions, strengthening coordination among national and international actors, and advancing toward a more structured implementation phase of the Roadmap for Stability and Peace in Haiti.

The assassination of Haiti’s president on July 7, 2021, was the culmination of three months of planning that began in South Florida, where the four defendants on trial and others met to overthrow the country’s leader in their quest for power, contracts and money in Haiti, according to the indictment. All four defendants face up to life in prison if they are convicted of conspiring to kidnap or kill Haiti’s president. The indictment includes several other counts related to the conspiracy charge.

The planned reopening of air travel between Haiti and the Dominican Republic has been postponed, with Dominican authorities citing the need to finalize a comprehensive security protocol before commercial flights can resume. According to officials, the delay stems from the need to complete a joint security framework governing passenger and cargo flights. The protocol is expected to include coordinated measures covering health screening, immigration procedures, and aviation security standards.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has raised alarm over escalating gang-related violence in Haiti and reports indicating that recent law enforcement operations involving drones have resulted in civilian deaths, including children. The Commission noted that operations conducted over the past year—some in collaboration with private actors—have allegedly caused multiple fatalities amid intensified security efforts.