Florida Jury Convicts Four Men in 2021 Assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse

A Florida jury on Friday convicted four men of conspiring to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. The men — Joseph Vincent, German Alejandro Rivera Garcia, Arcangel Pretel Ortiz and Antonio Intriago — face up to life in prison when sentenced.

The verdict follows a trial that began in March in Miami federal court. Prosecutors presented evidence that the plot was partly planned and financed from South Florida. Ortiz and Intriago operated Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, known as CTU.

Walter Veintemilla headed Worldwide Capital Lending Group. All three companies were based in South Florida. James Solages served as CTU’s representative in Haiti and coordinated with Christian Sanon, according to court evidence.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when roughly two dozen men, mostly former Colombian soldiers, entered his residence near Port-au-Prince. Martine Moïse, who was wounded in the attack, was the trial’s first witness. She testified that she woke to gunfire after midnight, turned to her husband and asked what was happening. According to her testimony, Moïse replied, “Honey, we are dead.”

At least five other people have pleaded guilty in the U.S. case and received life sentences. Christian Sanon, a Haitian-American pastor initially identified by investigators as someone the conspirators wanted to install as president, is scheduled to stand trial later.

Separately, Haitian authorities have charged about 20 people, including 17 former Colombian soldiers, in connection with the killing.