A FORMER justice official, considered one of the main suspects in the 2021 killing of Haitian president Jovenel Moise, was arrested on Thursday in the capital Port-au-Prince, according to police.

Joseph Badio, who had been on the run for more than two years, once worked for Haiti’s Ministry of Justice and in the government’s anti-corruption unit but was sacked for alleged ethics violations weeks before the assassination.

Mr Badio was arrested in the Petion Vile district of Port-au-Prince, National Police spokesman Garry Desrosiers said.

Haiti descended into a political crisis after Mr Moise was shot 12 times at his private home on July 7 2021.

Several people have been arrested over the assassination, including 11 men now in custody in the United States. 

US prosecutors have alleged that there was a broad plot among conspirators in both Haiti and Florida to hire mercenaries to remove Mr Moise and benefit from contracts from a successor administration.

Last week, former Haitian senator John Joel Joseph, one of the 11 men in US custody, pleaded guilty to charges related to the assassination.  A federal judge set his sentencing for December 19.

The former senator was extradited from Jamaica to the US in June, accused of conspiring to commit murder or kidnapping and providing material support resulting in death.

Two other people also have pleaded guilty. Haitian-Chilean businessman Rodolphe Jaar was sentenced in June to life in prison. The sentencing of Colombian former soldier German Alejandro Rivera Garcia is set for October 27.

Among the suspects arrested after the killing are 18 Colombian ex-soldiers, who are in custody in Haiti.

Since the assassination, the Caribbean country has also experienced a surge of gang violence that led the prime minister to request the deployment of foreign troops. 

The United Nations security council finally voted in early October to send a multinational force led by Kenya to help fight the gangs. The Kenyan government has not set a date for the deployment.

Turmoil in Haiti has continued, with one of the heads of the country’s democratic transition council being kidnapped on Wednesday.

Anthony Virginie Saint-Pierre was snatched in the Debussy district of Port au Prince by what officials described as “heavily armed” suspects dressed as police officers. 

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and no demands have been received that might lead to his release.

Police have launched a search mission to locate the politician.