Trial opens in Miami for 4 men charged in Haitian President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination

Power, Greed at Center of Trial for Haiti President’s Assassination, Prosecutors Say

Federal prosecutors opened a trial in Miami Tuesday, accusing four men of being driven by “greed, arrogance and power” in the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s last elected president, Jovenel Moïse. The killing plunged the Caribbean nation into unprecedented turmoil, with gang violence escalating to crisis levels in the years since.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean McLaughlin told jurors the case against Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages is straightforward: they wanted to seize control of Haiti and enrich themselves in the process.

“So arrogant and confident in themselves, the evidence will show, and thinking so little of the Republic of Haiti and its people, they actually thought they could pull it off,” McLaughlin said during opening statements.

The four defendants face possible life sentences on charges of conspiring to kidnap or kill Moïse from South Florida, where prosecutors say much of the plot was financed and planned. All have pleaded not guilty.

Defense attorneys countered that their clients were manipulated into taking blame for what was actually an internal Haitian coup. They argued that the initial investigation in Haiti was deeply flawed, tainting everything that followed.

“Once you get off on the wrong foot, everything that comes after is hard to trust,” said Orlando do Campo, who represents Ortiz.

According to court documents, the assassination occurred when approximately two dozen foreign mercenaries, primarily Colombians, attacked Moïse’s residence near Port-au-Prince on July 7, 2021. South Florida served as the central hub for planning and financing the conspiracy to remove Moïse and install a replacement chosen by the plotters.

Ortiz and Intriago were principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security (collectively known as CTU), while Veintemilla headed Worldwide Capital Lending Group. Both companies operated from South Florida. Solages worked as a CTU representative in Haiti who allegedly coordinated with other conspirators.

Prosecutors detailed how the group initially supported Christian Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen, as Moïse’s replacement. The conspirators reportedly met in South Florida in April 2021, where they agreed that once Sanon took power, he would award lucrative contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects, security forces, and military equipment.

Worldwide Capital allegedly helped finance the operation by extending a $175,000 credit line to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti for ammunition purchases. The group recruited about 20 Colombian nationals with military backgrounds and spent months acquiring weapons and body armor while attempting to build relationships with Haitian gangs.

By June 2021, investigators say the conspirators recognized that Sanon lacked both the constitutional qualifications and popular support to become president. They then shifted their support to Wendelle Coq Thélot, a former Haitian Supreme Court judge who died in January 2025 while still a fugitive.

Defense attorneys presented a starkly different narrative, claiming their clients believed they were participating in the lawful arrest of a president who had overstayed his term and faced widespread criticism. Emmanuel Perez, Intriago’s attorney, insisted the group was working with FBI agents, U.S. Embassy officials, and members of the Haitian government.

The defense pointed to Joseph Félix Badio, a former Haitian government employee arrested in 2023, as the true mastermind who used the planned arrest as cover for assassination. They claimed Moïse had already been killed by individuals dressed as Haitian police officers when the Colombian security team arrived.

“None of the people here on trial knew that,” said Jonathan Friedman, Solages’ attorney, adding that the group had what they believed was a legitimate arrest warrant signed by a judge—who later claimed it was signed under duress.

After opening statements, prosecutors called their first witness, Martine Moïse, the former president’s widow, who was wounded during the attack. Her testimony is scheduled to continue Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra has allocated more than two months for the trial, which comes as five other conspirators are already serving life sentences after pleading guilty to conspiracy charges in the U.S. A sixth person received a nine-year sentence for providing body armor.

Meanwhile, in Haiti, seventeen Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials face charges, though the investigation has stalled amid rampant gang violence, death threats, and a deteriorating judicial system. Sanon’s trial in the U.S. will be scheduled at a later date.