Elite FBI and HSI Team Transports 18 Defendants from Haiti to South Florida to Face Federal Charges in Assassination of Haitian President in HSTF Takedown
MIAMI / Monday, September 21, 2026 – The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida today announced the successful transport of 18 defendants from Haiti to Miami to face newly unsealed federal charges related to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021.
The special operation involved members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) elite Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), FBI Miami case agents and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents aboard a military aircraft equipped to handle possible armed gang attacks from around the Port-au-Prince airport in the Haitian capital.
These 18 individuals are among a group of 30 defendants that a Southern District of Florida grand jury indicted for their various roles in the plot to kill the President of Haiti. The charges include an intertwined fraud and money laundering scheme that relied on funds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 relief program to finance the assassination plot.
“Today marks the next major phase in our pursuit of accountability for the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “Our work did not end with the men who planned and carried out this assassination. We will follow the evidence wherever it leads, to those who financed it, facilitated it, supported it, or committed crimes to make it possible. Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished.”
“In July 2021, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated by individuals seeking to profit from illicit financial opportunities and business contracts,” said Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office. “Today's multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI’s continued commitment to bringing all participants in this plot to justice. FBI Miami, along with our domestic and international partners, remains steadfast in ensuring that all individuals who allegedly sought to profit from the assassination of a head of state are held fully accountable.”
“Homeland Security Investigations is uniquely positioned to investigate complex crimes that cross borders, exploit financial systems, and threaten the security of the United States and the international community,” said Jose R. Figueroa, Special Agent in Charge of HSI Miami. “The assassination of President Jovenel Moïse was a horrific attack, and we remain fully committed to working shoulder to shoulder with our partners to further expose the criminal network behind it, identify every individual who played a role, and ensure that the last person responsible is brought to justice.”
According to recently unsealed court documents, at least 22 newly named defendants directly participated in a coordinated multinational conspiracy involving financing, recruitment, and logistical support to carry out the attack on July 7, 2021.
The following defendants are charged with offenses arising from the alleged conspiracy to kill or kidnap President Moïse:
Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a/k/a “Kumbe,” a/k/a “Pumba,” a/k/a “Bubba,” a/k/a “Mr. President,” a/k/a “P”
Byron Sherrod Rainer, a/k/a “B. Ellis Rains,” a/k/a “Byron Rain,” a/k/a “Byron Ellis”
Joseph Felix Badio, a/k/a “Cousin”
Vitel’Homme Innocent
Carlos Giovanni Guerrero Torres, a/k/a “Don Francisco”
Victor Albeiro Pineda Cardona, a/k/a “Pipe”
Juan Carlos Yepes Clavijo, a/k/a “Woker”
Naiser Franco Castaneda, a/k/a “Esneider”
Angel Mario Yarce Sierra
Jheyner Alberto Carmona Flores, a/k/a “Joseph”
Edwin Enrique Blanquicet Rodriguez, a/k/a “Daniel”
Manuel Antonio Grosso Guarin, a/k/a “Mauricio”
Jhon Jairo Ramirez Gomez, a/k/a “Danny”
Francisco Eladio Uribe Ochoa, a/k/a “Cristian”
Alejandro Giraldo Zapata, a/k/a “Alexander”
Neil Caceres Duran, a/k/a “Anderson”
Jhon Jader Andela
Enalber Vargas Gomez, a/k/a “Victor”
John Jairo Suarez Alegria, a/k/a “Angel”
Gersain Mendivelso Jaimes
Alex Miyer Peña, a/k/a “Holman”
Samir Handal
Ashkard Pierre
The following defendants are charged with offenses arising from the alleged PPP-EIDL fraud and money laundering scheme:
Byron Sherrod Rainer, a/k/a “B. Ellis Rains,” a/k/a “Byron Rain,” a/k/a “Byron Ellis,”
Jameela Ammara Simmons
Marcel Williamson
Travis Barrett Nave
If convicted, certain defendants face a statutory maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Any sentence will be determined by a federal district judge after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
According to the indictment, members of the conspiracy coordinated funding for weapons, traveled to and from Haiti during planning phases, and used encrypted communications to organize the operation. Several defendants allegedly provided material support knowing the conspiracy would result in a violent attack that led to the president’s death.
U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge José R. Figueroa of HSI Miami made the announcement.
FBI Miami and HSI Miami are investigating the case, with assistance from Haitian law enforcement and international partners.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean T. McLaughlin, Jason Wu, and Altanese Phenelus are prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Miami comprises agents and officers from FBI Miami and HSI Miami.
A copy of the indictment can be found here.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-cr-20104.
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Contact
Public Affairs Unit
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Florida
USAFLS.News@usdoj.gov
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida
