Eighteen men reach a Miami courtroom in the Moïse case.

Extradition, Monday's initial appearance, and the indictment are process, not convictions, for the 18 men transferred from Haiti. Verdicts and guilty pleas already entered against other defendants do not decide these 18 cases. The group, 17 men described as Colombian former soldiers or mercenaries and one former Haitian government official, was flown to Miami International Airport on Sunday and appeared Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at the downtown Miami federal courthouse, where each was awarded counsel.

WSVN reports that the 18 were transferred from Haiti to the United States to face trial over an alleged role in the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. WSVN reporting names Joseph Félix Badio, a former Haitian government official, as a key suspect in the group. Being named as a suspect is not a conviction. At Monday's hearing, each man was awarded counsel. Some are expected back later in the week. Many do not speak English and needed interpreters, as reported. Appointed lawyers, a later return, and an interpreter are hearing process. They are not findings about who planned or carried out the assassination.

U.S. Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones of the Southern District of Florida said 30 people in all have been indicted, as reported by WSVN. The indictment, as reported, alleges the plot was planned, financed, and conspired in Miami, and that COVID relief funds were used to finance it. Those are charging allegations. They are not a finding that any of the 18 men who arrived Sunday planned the plot, financed it, or used those funds. WSVN also reports that a jury trial for Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a key figure who remains in U.S. custody, is scheduled to begin Monday, Sept. 21, 2026. Sanon is a different defendant. His trial date is not a verdict in his case, and it is not a finding against the 18 who just appeared.

Earlier Miami results belong to other people. Reporting says a May jury convicted four defendants, and that at least five others pleaded guilty, with life sentences reported in that group. Those are outcomes in other files, as reported. A conviction or a plea entered by someone else does not decide whether any of these 18 men is guilty. Those 18 men are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.