Trial Begins for Four in Haitian President's Assassination

Jury selection began Monday in Miami for the federal trial of four men charged with conspiring to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages face life sentences if convicted. They all pleaded not guilty.

Christian Sanon was set to go on trial with the others but his case was severed due to medical reasons. A separate trial for Sanon will be scheduled later. The trial was previously delayed because of discovery challenges and a large volume of evidence, as reported by AP News.

The assassination took place on July 7, 2021 when about two dozen foreign mercenaries mostly from Colombia attacked Moïse's home near Port-au-Prince. His wife Martine was wounded during the attack and flown to the U.S. for emergency treatment per CBS News.

Court documents indicate that 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 while Veintemilla was a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group per CBS News.

Sanon is a dual Haitian-American citizen who investigators say was initially favored by the conspirators to replace Moïse. Solages coordinated with Sanon and others according to AP News. 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 per NY Post.

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 according to CBS News.