The Assassination of Jovenel Moïse: What Has Been Established—and What Remains Unanswered

The Assassination of Jovenel Moïse: What Has Been Established—and What Remains Unanswered

By Wilsonn Telimo Lwi

More than five years after Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated inside his private residence on July 7, 2021, the case has produced convictions, guilty pleas and additional indictments. Yet the Haitian people still do not possess a complete and universally credible account of the crime.

The evidence presented in American federal proceedings supports one central conclusion: Moïse’s assassination was not a spontaneous attack committed solely by the armed men who entered his bedroom. It was the result of a coordinated, multinational conspiracy involving political ambition, financial interests, logistical planning and the expectation of obtaining influence and lucrative contracts in Haiti.

From a kidnapping plan to an assassination

According to evidence accepted by a federal jury in Miami, members of the conspiracy initially developed plans to kidnap President Moïse and force him to resign.

Several proposed operations were discussed during the months preceding his death. One plan reportedly involved kidnapping him at his sister’s residence, drugging him and compelling him to surrender power. Another contemplated capturing him upon his return from an international trip.

When those plans failed, the operation evolved into a direct attack against the president’s residence.

The United States Department of Justice states that conspirators recruited former Colombian soldiers, obtained weapons and ammunition in Haiti and coordinated activities among individuals in the United States, Colombia and Haiti. On July 7, 2021, members of the assault team entered the residence, killed President Moïse and seriously wounded First Lady Martine Moïse.

Four federal convictions

On May 8, 2026, a federal jury convicted four men for their participation in the conspiracy:

* Antonio Intriago;

* Arcángel Pretel Ortiz;

* James Solages;

* Walter Veintemilla.

The defendants were convicted of offenses connected to the conspiracy to kidnap or assassinate Moïse, providing material support for the operation and organizing an expedition against a friendly nation. Intriago was also convicted of offenses relating to the export of tactical equipment from the United States.

According to the Justice Department, the conspiracy used South Florida as an important staging ground. Prosecutors characterized the operation as motivated by political power, anticipated financial profit and access to Haitian government contracts.

The trial evidence attributed different responsibilities to the four defendants.

Veintemilla allegedly played a central role in financing the operation, including through a loan agreement valued at approximately $175,000. Pretel Ortiz participated in tactical planning and coordination with the Colombian personnel. Intriago managed logistics, equipment, payroll and supplies. Solages served as a principal liaison in Haiti, helped obtain weapons and participated in surveillance of the president’s residence.

These are no longer merely accusations against these four individuals: a federal jury found them guilty. Nevertheless, their convictions do not automatically establish the guilt of every other person whose name has appeared in an investigation, testimony or media report.

The importance of the physical and digital evidence

The American case relied on more than political testimony.

According to the Justice Department, bullets recovered from President Moïse during the autopsy—and a bullet removed from Martine Moïse during medical treatment—were linked to a rifle carried and used by the Colombian assault team.

Prosecutors also introduced extensive digital communications showing that members of the conspiracy had discussed and coordinated plans to kidnap or kill the president for several months.

This evidence helped demonstrate that the operation was planned in advance and involved multiple levels of participation. The individuals who physically entered the residence represented only the final operational level of a much broader enterprise.

The unanswered security question

One of the most troubling questions remains the apparent collapse of the presidential security apparatus.

How could a heavily armed foreign command enter the residence of a sitting president without facing meaningful resistance from those responsible for protecting him?

This question demands a complete examination of:

* The chain of command responsible for presidential security;

* The location and conduct of security officers that night;

* Communications among the different security units;

* Access to information concerning the president’s movements;

* Possible negligence, corruption, abandonment of duty or complicity;

* The absence of an effective emergency response.

The assassination was not only a criminal operation. It was also an extraordinary failure of the Haitian State.

Whether that failure resulted from incompetence, deliberate cooperation or a combination of both must be determined through reliable evidence and fair judicial proceedings.

The financiers and political beneficiaries

The people who carried weapons were not necessarily the only—or most powerful—participants.

A complete investigation must identify every individual who:

* Financed the operation;

* Recruited personnel;

* Supplied weapons and equipment;

* Provided transportation or intelligence;

* Facilitated entry into the presidential residence;

* Promised protection or government contracts;

* Participated in determining the president’s replacement;

* Attempted to profit politically or economically from his removal.

It is equally important to distinguish between a person who benefited from the political consequences of the crime and someone who participated in planning it. Political benefit alone is not proof of criminal responsibility.

Investigators must therefore follow financial records, communications, contracts, travel information and testimony—not rumors, partisan accusations or political hostility.

The investigation is continuing

In September 2026, American authorities announced another major phase in the case. Eighteen defendants were transported from Haiti to South Florida to face federal charges connected to the assassination.

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida stated that investigators would continue pursuing those who financed, facilitated or supported the conspiracy. Authorities also emphasized that the investigation had not ended with the people accused of planning or physically carrying out the attack.

These additional defendants remain presumed innocent unless their guilt is established in court.

This distinction is essential. A democratic society must demand accountability while protecting due process. Being questioned, named by a witness, indicted or discussed by the press is not the same as being convicted.

The Haitian investigation

The Haitian judicial process has encountered delays, insecurity, institutional weakness and controversy. Judges assigned to the case have faced enormous pressure, while suspects have remained detained for extended periods without completed trials.

Conflicting accounts and disputed judicial decisions have made it difficult for the population to determine which conclusions are legally operative and which remain under appeal or further investigation.

Haiti cannot surrender its responsibility to establish the truth merely because American courts are prosecuting crimes connected to the conspiracy.

The assassination took place in Haiti. Its gravest institutional consequences have been suffered by the Haitian people. Haiti therefore needs an independent, adequately protected and transparent judicial process capable of examining both the direct perpetrators and the political or institutional network that made the operation possible.

The consequences for Haiti

The assassination did not simply end the life of one president. It deepened the country’s constitutional and security crisis.

Since Moïse’s death, Haiti has faced:

* A prolonged absence of elected national leadership;

* Further erosion of public institutions;

* Expansion of armed groups;

* Massive internal displacement;

* Greater economic suffering;

* Reduced public confidence in government;

* Increased dependence on external intervention;

* Continuing uncertainty about elections and constitutional government.

It would be legally irresponsible to accuse a particular person or organization simply because that actor acquired power or influence after the assassination. Nevertheless, investigators must examine whether anyone deliberately helped create or exploit the political vacuum that followed the crime.

What justice requires

Justice cannot end with the conviction of the gunmen or a limited number of organizers.

A credible resolution requires:

1. Identifying the complete chain of command behind the operation;

2. Prosecuting the financiers, organizers, facilitators and direct perpetrators;

3. Investigating the failures or possible complicity of presidential security;

4. Protecting witnesses, judges, attorneys and investigators;

5. Respecting the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial;

6. Coordinating evidence lawfully among Haiti, the United States and Colombia;

7. Publishing judicial findings that the Haitian population can examine;

8. Reforming the institutions whose failure made the assassination possible;

9. Preventing political authorities from using the investigation against opponents;

10. Ensuring that victims and the Haitian people receive a credible account supported by evidence.

Conclusion

The assassination of Jovenel Moïse has been partially—but not completely—explained.

American judicial proceedings have established that a far-reaching conspiracy operated across national borders and was influenced by political ambition, anticipated profits and access to government contracts. Specific individuals have been convicted for financing, coordinating, supplying or facilitating the operation.

However, the complete architecture of the crime remains unresolved.

The public still needs credible answers concerning the full network of financiers, the political actors expected to assume power, the Haitian facilitators, the collapse of presidential security and the identity of every person who authorized or knowingly supported the final assassination plan.

It would therefore be incorrect to claim that nothing has been proven. It would be equally incorrect to declare that the entire case has been solved.

Significant elements of the conspiracy have been established in court. But justice will remain incomplete until the investigation reaches every level of responsibility—from the people who entered the residence to those who financed, protected, directed or expected to benefit from the operation.

Haiti deserves more than rumors and partisan accusations. It deserves evidence, due process, institutional accountability and the complete truth.

Wilsonn Telimo Lwi

Researcher and President of ITIYAyiti

KÒTAKÒT for an Autonomous Haiti