MIAMI (AP) — Starting Monday, jury selection is set to commence in the U.S. federal trial of four men accused of orchestrating the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
The defendants, Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages, face charges of conspiring within South Florida to either kidnap or kill Haiti’s former president, along with other related offenses. They could each receive life sentences if convicted, although all have entered not guilty pleas.
Originally, Christian Sanon was to be tried alongside them, but his attorney revealed on Monday that Sanon’s case has been separated due to health issues. A new trial date for Sanon will be arranged in the future.
The trial for these defendants had initially been slated for the previous year. However, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra in Miami postponed it due to complexities related to the evidence and the substantial amount of material to be examined.
In connection with the conspiracy, five individuals have already admitted guilt and are currently serving life sentences. Another person, who was allegedly unaware of the assassination plot, received a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to supplying body armor to those involved.
President Moïse’s life was tragically ended on July 7, 2021, when a group of approximately two dozen foreign mercenaries, primarily Colombian, stormed his residence near Port-au-Prince. During the attack, Moïse’s wife, Martine, sustained injuries and was flown to the United States for urgent medical care.
According to court documents, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust Moïse and replace him with someone of the conspirators’ choosing.
Ortiz and Intriago were principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, collectively known as CTU, and Veintemilla was a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group. Both companies were based in South Florida.
Sanon is a dual Haitian-American citizen who investigators say was initially favored by the conspirators to replace Moïse. Solages was a CTU representative in Haiti who coordinated with Sanon and others, officials said.
The conspirators met in South Florida in April 2021 and agreed that, once in power, Sanon would award contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects, security forces, and military equipment, investigators said.
Worldwide Capital agreed to help finance the coup, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti to purchase ammunition, officials said.
CTU initially retained about 20 Colombian nationals with military training to provide security for Sanon. But by June 2021, the conspirators realized Sanon had neither the constitutional qualifications nor sufficient popular support to become president. They then backed Wendelle Coq Thélot, a former Haitian Superior Court judge. She died in January 2025 while still a fugitive.
Besides the 11 people arrested and prosecuted in the U.S., another 20, including 17 Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials, face charges in Haiti. Gang violence, death threats, and a crumbling judicial system have stalled an ongoing investigation.
