A Florida jury has convicted four men for their roles in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, a killing that plunged Haiti into deeper chaos and exposed a sprawling conspiracy planned largely from South Florida.
Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages were found guilty of conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti’s leader, providing material support to the plot, and violating the US Neutrality Act. All four now face the possibility of life in prison.
US prosecutors said South Florida served as the nerve centre for financing and coordinating the operation, with the conspirators aiming to remove Moïse and install a leader of their choosing one they believed would enrich them and reshape Haiti’s government to their advantage.
“These defendants pursued power, influence, and profit through violence,” said US Attorney Jason Reding Quiñones. “They supported a conspiracy that crossed borders, destabilized a friendly nation, and ended with the murder of a sitting president.”
Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when a team of foreign mercenaries mostly Colombian stormed his home near Port‑au‑Prince. His wife, Martine Moïse, survived the attack and became the first witness at the Miami trial, recounting how she awoke to gunfire and heard her husband say: “Honey, we are dead.”
Ortiz and Intriago were principals of CTU, a South Florida‑based security firm prosecutors said played a central role in the plot. Veintemilla ran Worldwide Capital Lending Group, which allegedly financed parts of the operation. Solages, CTU’s representative in Haiti, coordinated with dual Haitian‑American pastor Christian Sanon, who conspirators initially hoped to install as president. Sanon will face trial later.
Defence lawyers argued the investigation was deeply flawed and claimed the men believed they were acting under a legitimate Haitian arrest warrant, not participating in an assassination. They said their clients were manipulated into taking the fall for a coup orchestrated within Haiti’s political elite.
At least five other defendants have already pleaded guilty in the US and are serving life sentences. Meanwhile, in Haiti, 20 people including 17 Colombian soldiers still face charges, but gang violence, threats and a collapsing justice system have stalled progress.
The verdict marks a major step in the US side of the investigation, even as Haiti continues to grapple with the political vacuum and spiralling insecurity left in the wake of Moïse’s killing.
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