US Prosecutors: Greed and Power Drove Assassination of Haiti's President
In a Miami courtroom, federal prosecutors have asserted that greed, arrogance, and a lust for power were the primary motivations behind the 2021 assassination of Haiti's last elected president, Jovenel Moïse. Opening statements began on Tuesday in the trial of four men charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill the former leader, an event that plunged the Caribbean nation into unprecedented turmoil and empowered violent gangs.
Prosecution's Case: A Simple Plot for Wealth and Control
Assistant US Attorney Sean McLaughlin told the jury that the case against Arcangel Pretel Ortíz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages is straightforward. He argued that these individuals aimed to seize political power and enrich themselves, showing blatant disregard for Haiti and its people. "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 stated.
According to court documents, South Florida served as a central hub for planning and financing the plot to oust Moïse and install a replacement chosen by the conspirators. Ortíz and Intriago were principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, collectively known as CTU, while Veintemilla led Worldwide Capital Lending Group, both based in South Florida. The three men face potential life sentences and have pleaded not guilty.
Defense Arguments: Manipulation and a Botched Investigation
Defense attorneys countered by claiming that the investigation initiated in Haiti was deeply flawed and that their clients were manipulated into taking blame for what they described as an internal coup. Ortiz's attorney, Orlando do Campo, emphasized, "Once you get off on the wrong foot, everything that comes after is hard to trust." They argued that the group believed they were lawfully arresting a criminal president, working with FBI agents, US Embassy officials, and Haitian government members.
The defense pointed to Joseph Félix Badio, a former Haitian government worker arrested in 2023, as the true mastermind behind a plan to use the president's arrest as a cover for assassination. They alleged that Moïse had already been killed by men dressed as Haitian police officers when Colombian security forces arrived to arrest him. Solages' attorney, Jonathan Friedman, noted that the group had a real arrest warrant signed by a judge, who later claimed it was signed under duress, adding, "None of the people here on trial knew that."
Details of the Assassination Plot and Aftermath
Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when approximately two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince. Investigators revealed that the conspirators initially favored Christian Sanon, a dual Haitian-US citizen, to replace Moïse. In April 2021, they met in South Florida and agreed that Sanon, once in power, would award contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects, security forces, and military equipment. Worldwide Capital agreed to finance the coup, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti for ammunition purchases.
CTU recruited about 20 Colombian nationals with military training to provide security for Sanon, and conspirators spent months obtaining weapons, body armor, and attempting to build relationships with Haitian gangs. By June 2021, they realized Sanon lacked constitutional qualifications and popular support, shifting their backing to Wendelle Coq Thélot, a former Haitian superior court judge who died in January 2025 while still a fugitive.
Five others have previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in the US and are serving life sentences, with a sixth sentenced to nine years for providing body armor. Sanon's trial will be scheduled later. In Haiti, 17 Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials face charges, but gang violence, death threats, and a crumbling judicial system have stalled the investigation.
