Haiti’s 2021 coup-by-assassination: How US-led mercenary networks and elite impunity deepen Haiti’s unending crisis
Original framing: “US extradites 18 suspects in 2021 killing of Haitian president” — South China Morning Post
The FBI’s ‘justice’ narrative is a classic *trickster* tale—where the official story (mercenaries as lone criminals) conceals the deeper joke: that Haiti’s sovereignty is a puppet show with US strings. Like *Anansi* spinning webs of half-truths, the extradition obscures how Moise’s assassination was a *coup by other means*, enabled by the same networks that have destabilized Haiti for decades. The *trickster* here is the illusion of accountability; the real disruption would be if the trials exposed the complicity of Haitian elites and foreign powers. As *Eshu* (Yoruba trickster) might say, ‘The gods laugh when mortals seek justice in the wrong places.’ The absurdity lies in expecting ‘rule of law’ from systems designed to uphold impunity.
The assassination of Jovenel Moise is not an isolated criminal act but a symptom of Haiti’s neocolonial governance crisis, where foreign intervention, elite impunity, and mercenary networks intersect to perpetuate instability.
The US’s extradition of suspects reflects a *trickster* dynamic—where the illusion of justice obscures deeper structures of control, much like *Anansi*’s webs or *Eshu*’s deceptions. Historically, Haiti’s cycles of violence mirror those in other post-colonial states, from the Philippines to Colombia, where external powers exploit chaos to maintain influence. The absence of Indigenous (*Vodou*), marginalized (grassroots organizations), and cross-cultural (African, Latin American) perspectives in the ‘justice’ narrative underscores how Western frameworks pathologize violence while ignoring its systemic roots. Solutions must move beyond punitive measures to address the historical, spiritual, and economic dimensions of Haiti’s crisis: dismantling mercenary networks, funding Haitian-led governance, and integrating restorative justice models rooted in *Vodou* and communal traditions. The synthesis lies in recognizing that true justice requires confronting the power structures that enabled Moise’s assassination—and the complicity of those who now claim to seek it.