A federal jury in Florida has found four men guilty in connection with the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. This shocking crime, orchestrated from Florida, has led to escalating gang violence in Haiti.
The individuals convicted are Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages. They faced charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Haiti’s leader, providing material support, and breaching the U.S. Neutrality Act. Each could now face a life sentence.
During the trial, prosecutors outlined how South Florida was the epicenter for planning and funding the violent home invasion that took place on July 7, 2021.
The plotters intended to remove Moïse and install Christian Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen, as the new leader, with the expectation of financial gains under the new government.
Ortiz and Intriago operated a Miami-based security company called Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), while Veintemilla ran a capital lending firm in South Florida.
Ortiz and Intriago ran a Miami-area security firm known as Counter Terrorist Unit (CTU), while Veintemilla headed a South Florida capital lending group.
During the trial, which kicked off in March, Moïse’s widow, Martine, delivered harrowing testimony about the night roughly two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly Colombians, stormed their home near Port-au-Prince.
FILE – A person holds a photo of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise during his memorial ceremony at the National Pantheon Museum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Speaking through a Creole interpreter, she recalled her husband’s chilling final words as gunfire erupted: “Honey, we are dead.”
Martine Moïse was wounded in the attack and flown to the U.S. for emergency medical treatment.
Defense attorneys argued the men were manipulated into taking the blame for an internal coup, and believed they were executing a legitimate Haitian arrest warrant to “liberate” the country from a president who had overstayed his term.
Citizens protest near the Petion Ville police station in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 8, 2021, following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse and injury of his wife during an attack on their home.
The Florida verdicts add to the growing list of convictions in the U.S., with at least five other people serving life sentences after pleading guilty.
In Haiti, 20 people, including 17 Colombian soldiers, are facing charges.
