Four men convicted in Miami in plot tied to President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination

Four men were convicted Friday in Miami federal court for their roles in a conspiracy tied to the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, whose killing deepened Haiti’s political instability and worsening gang violence.

A federal jury found Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages guilty of conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Moïse.

Moïse was assassinated in the early hours of July 7, 2021, when armed men stormed his private residence near Port-au-Prince. Haitian and U.S. authorities said the group included mostly Colombian mercenaries.

Prosecutors argued during the trial that South Florida became a key base for planning and financing the operation. According to court records, conspirators sought to remove Moïse from power and replace him with a leader they supported.

The assassination plunged Haiti into deeper turmoil. Since Moïse’s death, gangs have expanded their control across much of Port-au-Prince and other parts of the country, contributing to widespread displacement and political paralysis.

Ortiz and Intriago were linked to Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, known collectively as CTU, a South Florida-based security company. Veintemilla was associated with Worldwide Capital Lending Group, another South Florida business prosecutors said helped finance the operation.

Solages, a Haitian American, worked as a CTU representative in Haiti and coordinated with several co-conspirators, according to investigators.

Federal prosecutors said the group initially backed medical doctor Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a dual Haitian American citizen and pastor, as a possible replacement for Moïse. Court testimony showed conspirators met in South Florida in April 2021 and discussed political and financial arrangements tied to a future government in Haiti.

According to investigators, CTU recruited about 20 Colombian nationals with military backgrounds to provide security for Sanon. Prosecutors also said the group acquired weapons and body armor and attempted to establish ties with armed groups in Haiti.

By June 2021, prosecutors said the conspirators abandoned support for Sanon after determining he lacked both constitutional eligibility and political backing to become Haiti’s president. They later turned their support to former Haitian Supreme Court judge Wendelle Coq Thélot, who died in January 2025 while still wanted by Haitian authorities.

Defense attorneys argued that their clients believed they were participating in an effort to detain Moïse rather than assassinate him. Lawyers described Moïse as an unpopular leader facing criticism over claims that he had remained in office beyond his term. They said Sanon approached their clients in early 2021 [CTU owners] with plans to “liberate Haiti from Moïse.”

The four men are scheduled to be sentenced on July 28 and each faces a possible life sentence.

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