A Florida jury on Friday convicted four men of conspiracy in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, a killing that plunged an already vulnerable nation into deeper chaos and exposed how violence planned on American soil destabilized a democratic neighbor. The men—Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages—were found guilty of conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti's elected leader and providing material support for the plot.
The defendants were also convicted of violating the U.S. Neutrality Act and could face possible life sentences. U.S. prosecutors demonstrated 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, with the men hoping to enrich themselves through a new government they would help install.
A Democracy Shattered
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, was wounded during the attack and flown to the U.S. for treatment. Martine Moïse was the first witness at trial, which began in March in Miami's federal court, and she testified through a Creole interpreter that she awoke to the sounds of gunfire after midnight. She said she turned to her husband in bed next to her to ask what was going on. "Honey, we are dead," Jovenel Moïse replied, according to his wife's testimony.
The human toll of the conspiracy extends far beyond the Moïse family. Gang violence, death threats and a crumbling judicial system have stalled an ongoing investigation in Haiti, leaving many questions unanswered and justice delayed for a population already suffering from institutional collapse.
The South Florida Connection
Ortiz and Intriago were principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, collectively known as CTU, and Veintemilla was a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group. Both companies were based in South Florida. Christian Sanon is a dual Haitian-American citizen whom investigators say was initially favored by the conspirators to replace Moïse. Solages was a CTU representative in Haiti who coordinated with Sanon and others, officials said. Sanon will face trial at a later date.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones said in a statement: "These defendants pursued power, influence, and profit through violence," and "They supported a conspiracy that crossed borders, destabilized a friendly nation, and ended with the murder of a sitting president. The jury has spoken, and the rule of law has answered."
Prosecutors argued that the men had their own leader in mind and had hoped to enrich themselves with a new government, revealing how private interests operating from American territory can undermine democratic institutions abroad.
Accountability Remains Incomplete
Defense attorneys argued at trial that the investigation into the assassination was a mess and that the four were manipulated into taking blame for an internal coup. They said the men believed they had a legitimate warrant signed by a Haitian judge and that they were liberating Haiti from Moïse, who had overstayed his term as president.
At least five others have pleaded guilty in the conspiracy and are serving life sentences. Separately, 20 people, including 17 Colombian soldiers, face charges in Haiti, where the ongoing investigation has been hampered by the very instability the assassination helped create.
Why This Matters:
The conviction of these four men represents a step toward accountability for a crime that deepened Haiti's humanitarian crisis and democratic collapse. The assassination of a sitting president, planned and financed from U.S. soil, demonstrates the urgent need for stronger oversight of private security operations and cross-border mercenary activity. For ordinary Haitians, the murder of their elected leader—however controversial his tenure—removed what remained of governmental stability and contributed to the gang violence and institutional breakdown that now defines daily life. The stalled investigation in Haiti, hampered by the very chaos the conspirators helped unleash, means many families affected by subsequent violence may never see justice. This case underscores how unchecked private actors pursuing profit can devastate vulnerable democracies, and why international cooperation and robust regulation of security contractors remain essential to protecting democratic governance in the hemisphere.