Four Convicted in Haitian President's Assassination Plot

A federal jury in Miami has convicted four men—Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages—of conspiracy to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. The defendants were found guilty of conspiring to kill or kidnap Moïse, providing material support for the plot, and violating the U.S. Neutrality Act.

The trial revealed that South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the assassination. Prosecutors alleged that the men aimed to oust Moïse, hoping to enrich themselves through a new government. The conspirators were found guilty of providing material support in violation of U.S. law, with all four facing possible life sentences.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince. His wife, Martine Moïse, survived the attack and provided dramatic testimony during the trial.

The defense argued that the men were manipulated into taking blame for an internal coup, claiming they had a legitimate warrant signed by a Haitian judge. At least five other people have pleaded guilty in the conspiracy and are serving life sentences. In Haiti, 20 people, including 17 Colombian soldiers, face charges related to the assassination.

Since Moïse’s death, no national elections have been held in Haiti. A provisional council appointed in September 2024 to organize new polls has since been replaced by U.S.-backed Prime Minister Alix Didier Fils-Aime, who has promised elections by year-end. The UN has emphasized the need for a stable government to restore order amid rising violence and humanitarian crises.

Prosecutors argued during the nine-week trial in a Miami federal court that the men assembled two dozen former Colombian soldiers and supplied them with money, guns, ammunition, and tactical vests in a conspiracy to kill Moïse. The 53-year-old president was shot dead at his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince, a killing that left a gaping political vacuum in the Caribbean nation and emboldened powerful gangs.

A fifth defendant, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haiti-born doctor who court papers say wanted to be named president after Moïse was killed, will be tried later due to health issues. Defense lawyers for the Florida men said the government used unreliable evidence from Haiti. They argued their clients only intended to serve an arrest warrant on the president because he had overstayed his term.

The defendants also claimed that by the time the Colombians arrived to arrest him, Moïse had already been killed by his own security forces and officials in his government. 'This is a Haitian plot and it is a Haitian conspiracy,' defense attorney Emmanuel Perez said, arguing that the men were being used as scapegoats in a flawed FBI investigation.