A person holds a photo of late Haitian President Jovenel Moise during his memorial ceremony at the National Pantheon Museum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July 20, 2021. MATIAS DELACROIX / AP
A US jury on Friday, May 8, convicted four men of participating in the plot to assassinate Haitian president Jovenel Moïse who was shot dead at his home in July 2021. Three of them – Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, and Walter Veintemilla – were arrested in 2023 in Florida. The fourth, Haitian American James Solages, was apprehended in Haiti and extradited to the United States to face charges that same year.
All four were linked to CTU, a private security firm based in the southern US state, and lured into the plot by the prospect of securing lucrative contracts in the event of Moïse's ouster, according to federal prosecutors.
The four were convicted in a federal court in Miami of charges including conspiracy to kill or kidnap Moïse, conspiracy to provide material support and violating the US Neutrality Act to engage in an illicit military operation abroad. They face possible sentences of life in prison. Sentencing was to take place at a later date.
The 53-year-old Moïse was gunned down on July 7, 2021 at his private residence by a hired group of about 20 military-trained Colombian mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene to protect him. Haiti has spiraled into deeper chaos since Moïse's killing. No election has been held since his death and the country has no president.
