Four convicted in Miami over plot linked to killing of Haitian President Moïse
Four men have been convicted in Miami federal court over a plot linked to the 2021 killing of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
A jury found Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla and James Solages guilty on Friday after a nine-week trial.
Prosecutors said the men recruited former Colombian soldiers and supplied money, guns, ammunition and tactical vests as part of a conspiracy to kill Moïse.
The court also heard that a fifth defendant, Christian Emmanuel Sanon, will be tried later because of health issues.
The verdict is a significant step in a case that has drawn attention in Haiti and the United States because of the scale of the alleged plot and the political fallout from Moïse's death.
Moïse was shot dead in July 2021 at his private residence in the hills above Port-au-Prince, leaving a political vacuum and adding to instability in the country.
The defence argued the men intended to serve an arrest warrant and said the government relied on unreliable evidence from Haiti.
Prosecutors, however, said the operation was designed to kill the president.
It remains unclear how the wider case will develop, including the outcome of Sanon's trial and whether further proceedings will follow in Haiti or the United States.
