MIAMI — Federal prosecutors accused a former Colombian special-forces soldier of being one of the gunmen who shot and killed Haitian President Jovenel Moise, laying out the evidence against one of the newest defendants brought into the sprawling Miami prosecution surrounding the 2021 assassination.

Victor Albeiro Pineda Cardona was ordered held without bond after a lengthy federal court hearing Monday in which prosecutors said statements from other participants, a tactical vest bearing his alleged nickname and other evidence tie him directly to the attack. His attorney countered that there is no known video showing Pineda inside the presidential residence and no cellphone location, DNA or fingerprint evidence placing him there.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Eduardo Sanchez also denied bond to Samir Handal, another recently charged defendant whom prosecutors portrayed as an important supporter of the conspiracy, accusing him of providing housing, food, fuel, money, radios and weapons to people involved in the plot while expecting an ambassadorship if Christian Sanon, the South Florida pastor prosecutors say wanted to replace Moise, took power.

The four-hour proceeding provided a detailed look at the government’s cases against Pineda and Handal as the long-running federal prosecution over the assassination expands to defendants recently brought before the Miami court.

Pineda, 45, a Colombian citizen who prosecutors said served in his country’s military for 20 years, had been held in Haiti since the day after Moise’s assassination. He was transferred to South Florida on Sept. 20 and pleaded not guilty.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Yara Dodin told Sanchez that the investigation has produced more than 85 terabytes of information, evidence from more than 150 electronic devices, more than 500 witness interviews, medical and autopsy records, seized weapons and ballistic testing. Two Colombian participants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the government, she said.

The government says Pineda was part of a group of about 20 Colombian military veterans brought to Haiti in June 2021. The men traveled first to the Dominican Republic, with most crossing into Haiti by bus after claiming they were doing missionary work.

According to prosecutors, Pineda belonged to what they called the “Delta Team.” Dodin said Pineda learned by mid- to late June 2021 that the operation involved kidnapping or killing Moise and that by the evening of July 6 all of the Colombian participants knew the president was to be killed.

The men were supplied with weapons, ammunition, CTU-branded tactical vests and fake Drug Enforcement Administration patches before traveling in a six-vehicle convoy to Moise’s residence early July 7, prosecutors said. CTU refers to two Doral-based companies, Counter Terrorist Unit Security and Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy, whose operators recruited about 20 former Colombian soldiers for the Haiti operation and helped provide them with equipment, weapons and ammunition.

James Solages, another defendant, allegedly announced a “DEA operation” over a loudspeaker as the group approached.

Prosecutors said Pineda arrived in the fourth vehicle, entered the residence armed while posing as a U.S. drug agent and participated in the attack. Hundreds of rounds were fired.

Dodin identified Pineda as one of three Colombians the government says shot Moïse and seriously wounded his wife, Martine Moise.

Among the evidence cited by prosecutors was a CTU tactical vest bearing what they said was Pineda’s nickname. The government also pointed to previous testimony from Martine Moïse that she heard attackers use that nickname during the assault and to statements from other Colombian participants identifying Pineda as one of the shooters. Prosecutors said witnesses also reported that Pineda later took credit for shooting the president.

Defense challenges evidence

But Juan J. Michelin, Pineda’s attorney, pressed FBI Special Agent Baxter Cohen on what investigators do not have.

Cohen acknowledged that he knew of no surveillance video showing Pineda inside the presidential residence, no cellphone-location evidence placing him there and no DNA or fingerprint evidence tying him to the scene.

Much of the information identifying Pineda’s role came from other Colombians implicated in the case, including defendants who have pleaded guilty. Cohen did not personally interview any of the Colombian defendants and joined the investigation as a co-case agent only in early 2026, he testified.

Michelin also questioned the reliability of statements obtained from Colombians imprisoned in Haiti. Cohen acknowledged that Pineda’s July 2021 interview there was not recorded. He also testified that he had seen photographs showing injuries to another defendant, German Rivera, who claimed he had been tortured while in Haitian custody and later pleaded guilty. Rivera is among the participants whose statements support portions of the government’s account.

Prosecutors argued that their case does not depend on any single piece of evidence and noted that members of the group removed a digital video recorder and other electronics from the presidential residence that could have contained surveillance footage.

The magistrate ordered Pineda detained, citing the seriousness of the charges, statements from other participants, the tactical vest and nickname evidence, his military training, lack of U.S. ties and the possibility of a life sentence if convicted. The judge found no combination of conditions could reasonably assure Pineda’s appearance in court and the safety of the community.

Sanon’s supporter

Handal’s alleged role was different.

Rather than accusing him of entering Moise’s residence or firing a weapon, prosecutors portrayed him as a Sanon supporter who provided resources for the operation and stood to benefit from the government that conspirators hoped to install afterward.

Prosecutors said Sanon owed Handal approximately $4 million from failed business ventures in Haiti and claimed Handal expected an ambassadorship in the Middle East if Sanon became president.

The government cited February 2021 communications in which Handal allegedly discussed military action against Moise and later asked Sanon whether he had found a house where he would live as president.

Prosecutors said Handal later provided a Port-au-Prince residence where Sanon and Colombian participants stayed, along with office space, cooking and cleaning staff, food, fuel, radios, ammunition and at least one shotgun. They also claim he provided approximately $3,000 for food for the Colombians shortly before the assassination.

After Moise was killed, prosecutors said, Handal sent his wife a message saying, “They took him.” The government said Handal also communicated with Sanon after the attack and indicated that he had everything ready to take Sanon to be sworn in as president.

Handal returned to the United States on July 9, two days after the assassination and after Sanon had been arrested, prosecutors said.

Defense disputes knowledge of murder plan

Handal’s attorney, Paul D. Petruzzi, challenged the government’s contention that his client knew in advance that Moïse would be killed.

During questioning, Cohen initially pointed to Handal’s own statements as evidence of his knowledge. But after reviewing an FBI interview report, the agent cited Handal’s alleged awareness of a plan for a coup to remove Moïse. Petruzzi argued that knowing about an effort to remove a president was not the same as knowing he would be murdered.

Petruzzi also challenged allegations that Handal supplied weapons and equipment.

Cohen testified that two Colombian participants said Handal provided a shotgun but could not say precisely when or where it was provided, identify its manufacturer or say whether it was used during the assassination. Investigators did not find Handal’s fingerprints or DNA on the shotgun or ammunition.

Cohen also could not specify how many radios Handal allegedly supplied or whether they were used in the operation. And while investigators found messages and a photograph of Handal’s bank card in communications concerning the alleged $3,000 for food, Cohen could not identify a receipt or specific bank record documenting the payment.

The defense also argued that Handal’s conduct after the assassination was inconsistent with someone preparing to flee. Handal voluntarily appeared for an FBI interview on July 28, 2021, accompanied by an attorney, turned over his cellphone and provided its password.

He continued to travel internationally and returned to the United States. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Dominique Francis testified that records showed 18 scheduled inbound and outbound trips after the assassination, although the agent could not say how many Handal actually took.

Handal was later arrested in Turkey on a Haitian Interpol Red Notice and spent months imprisoned there. Petruzzi cited a subsequent Interpol decision, but Sanchez said it did not amount to a finding that Handal’s account was true. Rather, he said, the Interpol commission found Haiti had not provided sufficient information to satisfy procedural requirements for the notice.

Judge rejects $1 million bond proposal

Petruzzi proposed releasing Handal on a $1 million personal surety bond secured by his Miami home, with home confinement and surrender of travel documents. The defense cited Handal’s family ties, lack of a prior criminal record and medical problems.

Prosecutors countered that Handal’s circumstances changed once he was indicted in a case carrying a potential life sentence and pointed to his international connections, financial resources and multiple travel documents. Francis testified that Handal, now a U.S. citizen, had traveled using three passports since the assassination.

Sanchez found that Handal’s U.S. citizenship, residence and family ties rebutted the statutory presumption of flight to some degree but concluded that prosecutors had shown he presented a serious flight risk and a danger to the community.

The judge cited the seriousness of the alleged conspiracy, Handal’s meetings and communications with Sanon, the government’s evidence that he provided resources to the operation, his international connections and travel documents and the possibility of a life sentence.

“No condition or combination of conditions” would reasonably assure Handal’s appearance or protect the community, Sanchez concluded in ordering him detained pending trial.

The court also dealt with two other recently charged defendants. John Jairo Suarez Alegria, represented by Juan De Jesus Gonzalez, pleaded not guilty to six charges and agreed to remain detained for now, preserving his right to seek a detention hearing later.

Joseph Felix Badio’s arraignment and detention hearing were postponed after his attorney, Lauren Krasnoff, filed a motion to withdraw because of a potential conflict. Sanchez rescheduled the proceedings for Oct. 14.

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