Federal prosecutors for the Southern District of Florida said a military plane had carried 18 suspects accused in the 2021 killing of President Moise from Haiti to the United States.

Moise, who was 53, was shot dead at his private residence on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince in July 2021. The killing left the Caribbean country in a severe political vacuum.

In May this year, four men in south Florida were convicted of plotting to hire mercenaries to assassinate Moise at his residence in the Haitian capital.

During a nine-week trial in federal court in Miami, prosecutors argued the men assembled more than 20 former Colombian soldiers and supplied money, firearms, ammunition and tactical vests as part of the plot.

Reaction inside Haiti is divided. A prominent human rights campaigner called handing the 18 suspects to the United States 'a disgrace for Haiti's justice system.'

With gang violence compounding the weakening of judicial and policing functions, trying major cases domestically has become difficult in Haiti. The transfer both reflects that reality and revives the argument over national sovereignty and judicial independence.