The Justice Department has arrested four Florida men accused of conspiring to kill Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
Archangel Pretel Ortiz, 50; Antonio Intriago 59; Walter Veintemilla, 54; and Frederick Bergmann, 64, were arrested Tuesday in connection with their “involvement” in the events leading up to Moise’s murder on July 7, 2021. Pretel is a Colombian citizen and US permanent resident of Miami. , Intriago is a Venezuelan citizen and US permanent resident of Miami, Veintemilla is a resident of Weston, Florida, and Bergmann is a resident of Tampa, Florida.
Moise was killed on July 7, 2021 in his private home and shot a dozen times, and his office and bedroom ransacked, according to the Haitian daily Le Nouvelliste.
Ortiz, Intriago and Veintemilla are charged with “conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside the United States, resulting in death; provide material support and resources to a conspiracy to kidnap or kill outside from United States”. , resulting in death; and conspiracy to kill or kidnap a person outside the United States,” according to the Department of Justice.
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FILE – In this Feb. 7, 2020 file photo, Haitian President Jovenel Moise speaks during an interview at his home in Petion-Ville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Sources say Moise was killed at his home, the first lady hospitalized amid political unrest. (AP Photo/Dieu Nalio Chery, file)
Bergmann is being charged with “conspiracy to commit export violations; submitting false and misleading export information; and smuggling ballistic vests from the United States to Haiti.”
According to the Department of Justice, South Florida served as a “central location” to “plan and finance the plot to oust President Moïse from power and replace him with someone who would serve the political goals and financial interests of the co-conspirators.”
Authorities say Ortiz and Intriago are directors of the Federal Anti-Terrorism and Security Unit Academy of the Anti-Terrorism Unit, and Veintemilla is a director of Worldwide Capital Lending Group, all based in South Florida.
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Haitian President Jovenel Moise was assassinated in a raid on his home by a group of unidentified people in the capital Port-Au-Prince. (Alejandro Cegarra/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
11 people now face charges in the Southern District of Florida in connection with the murder.
The Justice Department accuses Veintemilla and his company of agreeing to finance the plot and sent a $175,000 line of credit to the Federal Anti-Terrorism Unit Academy and also sent money to people in Haiti that was used to buy ammunition.
Authorities say the men gathered at a house near Moise’s residence on July 6, 2021 where firearms and other equipment were distributed, and Moise was killed a day later.
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Jovenel Moise is helped by a team member before an interview at his office in Petion-Ville, Haiti, Tuesday, November 29, 2016. (The Associated Press)
Ortiz, Intriago and Veintemilla face life in prison for their roles in the murder, and Bergmann faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
