Jury selection began Monday in Miami federal court for five men charged in connection with the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. The defendants - Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, Christian Sanon and James Solages - face charges of conspiring to kidnap or kill Haiti's former leader and related offenses. All have pleaded not guilty and could receive life sentences if convicted.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when approximately two dozen foreign mercenaries, primarily from Colombia, attacked his residence near Port-au-Prince. His wife Martine was wounded in the attack and transported to the United States for emergency medical treatment.

According to court documents, the conspiracy was planned and financed from South Florida. Ortiz and Intriago operated security companies known collectively as CTU, while Veintemilla ran Worldwide Capital Lending Group. Sanon, a dual Haitian-American citizen, was initially chosen by conspirators to replace Moïse as president. Solages served as CTU's representative in Haiti and coordinated with other conspirators.

Investigators say the conspirators met in South Florida in April 2021 and agreed that Sanon would award contracts to CTU for various projects once in power. Worldwide Capital provided financing, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to Haiti for ammunition purchases. CTU initially recruited about 20 Colombian nationals with military training to provide security for Sanon.

By June 2021, conspirators determined Sanon lacked the qualifications and support to become president, switching their backing to former Haitian Superior Court judge Wendelle Coq Thélot, who died in January 2025 while a fugitive. Five other defendants have already pleaded guilty and received life sentences, while a sixth person received nine years for providing body armor without knowledge of the assassination plot.

The trial was delayed from its original 2024 schedule due to discovery challenges and the extensive volume of evidence. Beyond the 11 individuals prosecuted in the United States, another 20 people face charges in Haiti, including 17 Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials. However, gang violence, death threats, and Haiti's deteriorating judicial system have hampered the ongoing investigation there.