Jury selection is set to commence on Monday for the federal trial of five men involved in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, which occurred on July 7, 2021. The accused are Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, Christian Sanon, and James Solages. They are charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill the former leader of Haiti, along with related charges. Each defendant has pleaded not guilty and faces potential life sentences.
The trial was originally scheduled for the previous year; however, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra postponed it due to challenges related to discovery and the extensive volume of evidence involved. In addition to these defendants, five others have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and are currently serving life sentences. Another individual provided body armor to the conspirators and received a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty, despite not being aware of the assassination plot.
The assassination was executed by a group of approximately twenty foreign mercenaries, most of whom were Colombian nationals, who attacked Moïse's residence near Port-au-Prince. During the violent incident, Moïse's wife, Martine, sustained injuries and had to be flown to the United States for emergency medical care.
According to court documents, South Florida was a pivotal location for both the planning and financing of the plot aimed at ousting Moïse and installing a successor of the conspirators' choosing. Ortiz and Intriago were leading figures at the Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security (CTU), both based in South Florida. Veintemilla served as a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group, also situated in the region.
Christian Sanon, a dual citizen of Haiti and the United States, was initially preferred by the conspirators as a replacement for Moïse. James Solages, who acted as a CTU representative in Haiti, coordinated efforts with Sanon and other conspirators. In April 2021, the conspirators convened in South Florida, where they reached an agreement that, upon securing power, Sanon would allocate contracts to CTU for various infrastructure projects, security forces, and military equipment. Worldwide Capital pledged financial support by extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and providing funds to co-conspirators in Haiti for the purchase of ammunition.
Initially, CTU retained around twenty Colombian nationals with military backgrounds for security purposes related to Sanon. However, by June 2021, it became apparent to the conspirators that Sanon lacked both the constitutional qualifications and popular support necessary to assume the presidency. Consequently, they shifted their support to Wendelle Coq Thélot, a former judge of the Haitian Superior Court, who passed away while still in hiding in January 2025.
In addition to the eleven individuals who have been arrested and prosecuted in the United States, another twenty people—including seventeen Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials—are facing charges in Haiti. Ongoing investigations have faced significant hurdles, including rampant gang violence, death threats, and a deteriorating judicial system, which have all contributed to the slow progress of the case.
