Jury selection to begin in South Florida for 5 charged in 2021 assassination of Haitian president

News

Jury selection to begin in South Florida for 5 charged in 2021 assassination of Haitian president

2026-03-09 12:04 Last Updated At：12:31

MIAMI (AP) — Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday in the U.S. federal trial of five men charged in the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.

Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, Christian Sanon and James Solages are charged with conspiring in South Florida to kidnap or kill Haiti’s former leader, plus related charges. They face possible life sentences. They all pleaded not guilty.

The trial was previously set for last year, but U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Becerra in Miami agreed to delay the case because of discovery challenges and the large volume of evidence.

Five others have already pleaded guilty in the conspiracy and are serving life sentences. A sixth person, who officials believe didn't know about the assassination plot, was sentenced to nine years behind bars after pleading guilty to providing body armor to the conspirators.

Moïse was killed on July 7, 2021, when about two dozen foreign mercenaries, mostly from Colombia, attacked his home near Port-au-Prince, officials said. Moïse's wife, Martine, was wounded during the attack and flown to the U.S. for emergency treatment.

According to court documents, South Florida served as a central location for planning and financing the plot to oust Moïse and replace him with someone of the conspirators’ choosing.

Ortiz and Intriago were principals of Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, collectively known as CTU, and Veintemilla was a principal of Worldwide Capital Lending Group. Both companies were based in South Florida.

Sanon is a dual Haitian-American citizen who investigators say was initially favored by the conspirators to replace Moïse. Solages was a CTU representative in Haiti who coordinated with Sanon and others, officials said.

The conspirators met in South Florida in April 2021 and agreed that, once in power, Sanon would award contracts to CTU for infrastructure projects, security forces and military equipment, investigators said. Worldwide Capital agreed to help finance the coup, extending a $175,000 line of credit to CTU and sending money to co-conspirators in Haiti to purchase ammunition, officials said.

CTU initially retained about 20 Colombian nationals with military training to provide security for Sanon. But by June 2021, the conspirators realized Sanon had neither the constitutional qualifications nor sufficient popular support to become president. They then backed Wendelle Coq Thélot, a former Haitian Superior Court judge. She died in January 2025 while still a fugitive.

Besides the 11 people arrested and prosecuted in the U.S., another 20, including 17 Colombian soldiers and three Haitian officials, face charges in Haiti. Gang violence, death threats and a crumbling judicial system have stalled an ongoing investigation.

South Africa men, New Zealand women win at the Vancouver Sevens

VANCOUVER (AP) — South Africa has joined Fiji atop the World Rugby Sevens Series men's standings after beating Spain 38-12 on Sunday in the final of the Vancouver Sevens.

Player of the Tournament Tristan Leyds provided a series of try assists in the first half which allowed South Africa to take control of the final before halftime. It went on to win its 47th World Series tournament title while Spain remains without a title after three finals appearances.

Jorja Miller inspired New Zealand to a 24-17 win over Australia in the women's final, it's fifth-straight win in Vancouver and it's third win in five tournaments this season.

Australia rallied from 17-5 down just after halftime to level the match at 17-17 but New Zealand secured possession at the restart and Alena Saili scored the match-winning try.

New Zealand leads Australia by six points in the season standings with one tournament remaining in New York before the season finals. Australia and New Zealand have met in all five women's finals this season with New Zealand winning three and Australia two.

Spain reached its first men's final of the season after an outstanding tournament in which it beat New Zealand in pool play and two-time Olympic champion Fiji in the semifinals.

But it struggled against South Africa's physical style in the final. Leyds played a key role with assists which led to tries by Sebastian Jobb and Shilton van Wyk as South Africa led 17-0 by halftime. Ryan Oothuizen opened the scoring for South Africa.

Van Wyk's second try put South Africa in control at 24-0 and after tries for Spain by Jeremy Trevithick and Anton Legorburu Impi, Visser closed out the match for the South Africans.

“It's an amazing feeling,” Visser said. “It's such a privilege to play in finals and pull the jersey over our heads.

“Sometimes we take it for granted but it's really an amazing feeling and we're just really grateful for it. We have to keep on this momentum next week in New York.”

Miller was hugely influential in the women's final, winning turnovers as New Zealand pressured Australia on defense.

Jaymie Kolosi scored New Zealand's first try and Miller scored the second before a try for Australia to Maddison Levi made the score 12-5 at halftime.

Katelyn Vahaakolo scored from a break by Miller, expanding New Zealand's lead to 17-5 in the first minute of the second half.

Australia then began to find gaps in the New Zealand defense through which Levi slipped to score her second try. MacKenzie Davie came off the bench to score the try that leveled the scores.

New Zealand captain Risi Pouri Lane made space for Waaka who set up the winning try for Saili.

“I think when we've got a team that plays for more than just themselves there's always a greater purpose to it,” Pouri Lane said. “Cultural connection is a great part of it and when we work so hard to have a genuine connection off the field it does pay off on the field.”

AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby