Colombia Offers Legal Aid to 17 Ex-Soldiers in Moïse Case
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COLOMBIA · JUSTICE
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, a major US ally in South America, has been governed since 7 August 2026 by conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella.
- —What happened On Tuesday 6 October, he ordered his defence and justice ministers to give 17 ex-soldiers held in the US legal help.
- —The case The men face charges in Miami federal court over the July 2021 killing of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse.
- —How they got there An FBI and Homeland Security team transported them from Haiti to South Florida in September, after more than five years in Haitian custody.
- —The stakes The main charges, including conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States, carry up to life in prison.
- —Still open Colombia has not said what the aid will cost or which lawyers it will pay, and the men are presumed innocent.
Colombia will give legal help to 17 ex-soldiers held in the United States over the 2021 murder of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse. President Abelardo de la Espriella, a conservative, gave the order on X on Tuesday 6 October 2026.
The men face federal charges in Miami, where a jury convicted four other men in the same plot in May 2026. The most serious counts carry up to life in prison, and Colombia’s backing puts Bogotá openly behind its citizens in a US courtroom.
What Colombia’s President Ordered
On X, De la Espriella said he had told his defence and justice ministers to give the detained former soldiers legal assistance. He also ordered financial support for their families, without naming an amount.
“The innocent cannot pay for the guilty,” he wrote, using a Spanish saying. “I want to know exactly what happened, and for the individual responsibility of each one to be made clear.”
“I am not the kind of president who abandons his heroes when they face difficulties,” he added. He promised the men backing “to exercise their defence” and to get “this whole situation” cleared up.
De la Espriella took office on 7 August 2026. His message treats the detainees as veterans owed the state’s support, not as suspects to be kept at arm’s length.
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A Step Beyond Consular Help
The order goes further than the Foreign Ministry’s statement of 20 September 2026, which promised consular assistance. Consuls had checked the men’s prison conditions and kept in touch with their families, the ministry said.
The ministry also stressed that Bogotá played no part in the decision to move the men to the United States. It said US judges must now decide any individual responsibility, and that Colombia would not interfere in court decisions.
How the Case Moved From Haiti to Miami
Gunmen killed Moïse at his home near Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, in the early hours of 7 July 2021. His wife, Martine Moïse, survived with serious wounds.
The 17 Colombians had been held in Haiti since 2021, according to Colombia’s Foreign Ministry. The ministry still describes their role in the killing as alleged.
In September, an FBI and Homeland Security Investigations team transported 18 defendants from Haiti to South Florida, the US Attorney’s Office in Miami said. Homeland Security Investigations is the main criminal investigation arm of the US Department of Homeland Security.
The group comprised the 17 Colombians and Joseph Félix Badio, a former official at Haiti’s Justice Ministry, Infobae reported. US Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones, the top federal prosecutor for southern Florida, said the case is not over.
“Five years later, we are still bringing defendants before American courts, and we are not finished,” he said. The indictment charges the 17 with conspiring to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States.
It also accuses them of providing material support, such as money, weapons or manpower, for that plot, resulting in death. Each of those counts carries a maximum of life in prison.
What US Courts Have Already Decided
On 8 May 2026, a federal jury in Miami convicted four men in the plot, with US District Judge Jacqueline Becerra presiding. Their charges included conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States.
Eight co-conspirators had already pleaded guilty, including two of the Colombian “mercenaries”, as the Justice Department calls them. Six of the eight testified at the trial.
Prosecutors say the plotters recruited 22 former Colombian Army soldiers and Haitian gang leaders, hoping to win lucrative government contracts in Haiti. One defendant agreed to finance the scheme through a US$175,000 loan drawn from pandemic relief funds that others had obtained, the department said.
What It Means for You
For readers in the United States, the killing of a foreign head of state is being tried in a Miami courthouse. Part of the plot was paid for with a loan drawn from US pandemic relief money.
Colombia’s pledge does not change who decides the case: a US judge and jury will rule on guilt, not Bogotá. At their first hearing in Miami on Monday 21 September, a federal magistrate judge assigned them court-appointed lawyers, the Miami Herald reported.
Most of the Colombians told the judge their only income was a military pension of less than US$1,000 a month, the paper added.
For the 17 ex-soldiers and their families, the order promises lawyers and money from home. For Haitians in Florida and elsewhere, the order changes little: 18 more suspects in their president’s murder now face a US court.
What Is Not Known
The government has not said how much the legal aid and family support will cost, or which budget will pay for them. Nor has it said whether it will hire private lawyers for the 17 ex-soldiers or work with counsel already assigned.
It is not known when the 17 will face a jury, or whether any of them will plead guilty, as eight co-conspirators have done.
It is also unclear how Colombia will help establish “exactly what happened”, as the president asked, without interfering in a US prosecution.
More: Colombia news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the 17 Colombians held in the United States?
They are former Colombian soldiers accused of taking part in the July 2021 killing of Haiti’s president, Jovenel Moïse. They were held in Haiti from 2021 until US agents transported them to South Florida in September 2026.
What exactly did Colombia promise the men?
President Abelardo de la Espriella ordered his defence and justice ministers to give the 17 ex-soldiers legal assistance. He also promised financial support for their families, without giving an amount.
Can Colombia stop the US prosecution?
No. Colombia’s Foreign Ministry has said US courts must decide individual responsibility and that Colombia will not interfere in judicial decisions.
What penalties do the men face?
The main charges against the 17 ex-soldiers, including conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States, carry up to life in prison. They are presumed innocent unless a court convicts them.
Sources: Abelardo de la Espriella, post on X, 6 October 2026; Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 20 September 2026; US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida, September 2026; US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida (indictment, case 22-CR-20104), September 2026; US Department of Justice, 8 May 2026; El País (Cali), 6 October 2026; El País (Cali), 21 September 2026; La Opinión, 6 October 2026; Infobae, 20 September 2026; El Tiempo, 7 August 2026; Miami Herald (via Yahoo News), 21 September 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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