Miami — A Florida jury on Friday convicted four men of conspiracy in the 2021 assassination President of Haiti Jovenel Moise.
US prosecutors alleged that South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust Moïse and replace him with a person of the conspirators’ choosing.
Arcangel Brettel Ortiz, Antonio Entreago, Walter Vintemilla, and James Soulages were convicted of conspiring to kill or kidnap Haiti’s elected leader and providing material support to the plot. They were also found guilty of violating the US Neutrality Act and could face possible life sentences.
Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince. Moise’s wife, Martine, was injured during the attack and was flown to the United States for treatment.
The trial has almost begun Two months Before that in Miami. The assassination of Moise led to unprecedented unrest in the Caribbean country, where gang leaders are on the rise Increasingly violent and empowering.
Ortiz and Intriago were lead directors of the Federal Academy’s Counter-Terrorism Unit and the Security Counter-Terrorism Unit, known collectively as the CTU, and Ventimiella was a director of the Worldwide Capital Lending Group. Both companies are based in South Florida.
Christian Sanon is a Haitian-American citizen who investigators say was initially favored by conspirators to replace Moise. Officials said Solage was a representative of the counterterrorism unit in Haiti and coordinated with Sanon and others. Sanon will face trial later.
At least five others have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy and are serving life sentences.