A federal grand jury indicted Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, Walter Veintemilla, and James Solages on charges arising from the July 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse [1]. Prosecutors alleged that the defendants coordinated and supported the plot from a base of operations in South Florida, bringing the case within federal jurisdiction under statutes criminalizing violence against foreign officials and foreign military expeditions launched from American soil [1]. The case proceeded to trial in the Southern District of Florida in Miami [1].
On May 8, 2026, the jury returned guilty verdicts on all three counts against each defendant: conspiracy to kill or kidnap a foreign elected leader, providing material support for terrorism, and violating the U.S. Neutrality Act [1]. The Neutrality Act, a federal statute that bars private citizens from waging war against nations at peace with the United States, is rarely the centerpiece of a major prosecution, making the conviction on that count a notable application of the law [1]. The jury found no basis for acquittal on any count [1].
No sentencing date has been reported for the four convicted defendants [1]. At least five additional individuals who faced related charges in connection with the assassination plot have already been sentenced to life in prison following guilty pleas [1]. The four men who went to trial face the prospect of comparable exposure, though sentencing guidelines calculations will depend on specific offense-level findings the court has yet to make [1].
No information on post-trial motions or anticipated appeals was reported at the time of the verdict [1]. Given the breadth of the guilty verdicts and the absence of acquitted counts, the evidentiary record presents a full-conviction posture that typically complicates grounds for reversal on sufficiency grounds, though defense counsel may pursue appellate arguments on legal theory or jury instruction issues in the months ahead [1].