More suspects detained in slain Haitian president probe

Miami (AP):

US authorities have arrested four more people for the slaying of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, including the owner of a Miami-area security company that hired ex-Colombian soldiers for the mission, prosecutors announced on Tuesday.

Antonio ‘Tony’ Intriago, owner of CTU Security, is charged with conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the US, among other charges, along with company representative Arcangel Pretel Ortiz.

Florida-based US financier Walter Veintemilla is accused of funding the operation. A fourth suspect, Frederick Joseph Bergmann Jr, is accused of smuggling goods.

“It is extremely important to bring (them) to justice,” said Markenzy Lapointe, US attorney for the Southern District of Florida. “We will deliver justice in the courtroom.”

A squad of former Colombian soldiers hired by CTU are among suspects who carried out the July 2021 attack, which authorities say originally was envisioned to be a coup rather than an assassination. The motives and ultimate masterminds of the attack remain unclear.

Tama Kudman, Veintemilla’s attorney, told AP that he would plead not guilty to both charges.

Claude Joseph, who was serving as prime minister when Moïse was killed, cheered the announcement. “Justice must prevail,” he tweeted, along with a picture of a US government news release on Tuesday’s announcement.

Earlier this month, the president’s widow, Martine Moïse, who was shot during the attack but survived, called for the creation of a special UN tribunal to investigate the assassination, saying the case has faced obstacles for 19 months.

“The killers are out there,” she said.

A total of 11 suspects are now in US custody, including key players like James Solages and Joseph Vincent, two Haitian-Americans who were among the first arrested after Moïse was shot 12 times at his private home in July 2021. Other suspects include Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a pastor and failed businessman, whose associates have suggested that he was duped by the real masterminds, who have yet to be arrested.