A federal jury in Miami has convicted four men of conspiring to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, who was shot dead in July 2021 at his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, a former FBI informant and Colombian national; Antonio Intriago, a Venezuelan-American owner of a security firm; James Solages, a Haitian-American; and Walter Veintemilla, an Ecuadorian-American, were all found guilty after a nine-week trial. They were convicted on multiple counts of conspiracy to kill and kidnap a person outside the United States resulting in death, as well as providing material support for the plot. All four now face possible life sentences.

Prosecutors argued that the men, all based in south Florida — the US state geographically closest to Haiti — used the region as a central hub for planning and funding the assassination. According to the prosecution, they assembled more than two dozen former Colombian soldiers and supplied them with money, weapons, ammunition and tactical equipment to carry out the killing. A fifth defendant, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian-born doctor who court documents allege wanted to be installed as president following Moïse's death, is to be tried separately due to health issues. Eight other individuals connected to the plot have already accepted plea deals.

The defence maintained that their clients were scapegoats in a flawed FBI investigation. They argued the men had only intended to serve Moïse with an arrest warrant amid a dispute over whether he had overstayed his presidential term — a genuine controversy, as Moïse had refused to leave office after his term expired in February 2021. Defence lawyers further claimed that by the time the Colombian operatives arrived, Moïse had already been killed by members of his own security detail.