It is only your problem insofar as your little flags do not translate here.
We get the HT, the DO and the UM.
No little pictures of flags.
Maybe take JD's suggestion and keep it simple.
Just saying.
- Thread starter NanSanPedro
- Start date
UN Report: How Florida is Fueling Haiti's Arms Trafficking Crisis
It is only your problem insofar as your little flags do not translate here.
We get the HT, the DO and the UM.
No little pictures of flags.
Maybe take JD's suggestion and keep it simple.
Just saying.
All very interesting.
Emojis are a part of everyday language now.
Unless you are really old and stuck in your ways
Nothing done here will get anyone killed.
Unlike in real life.
Those who have/had one know this.
Those researching these types of problems...don't
Who do I remind you of❓
FYI, I find flies to be an irritation.
When there is a fly in my room...
I pull out the fly swatter
And eliminate the irritation.
Here in DR1 I think we can do the same thing with the ignore button.
Ironically the people who say what you quoted before are usually the ones who celebrate Abortions ..
very odd
Maybe they are saying Haiti needs more Abortions and Less Guns ?
lol.
Three guesses and the first two don't count.
To what are you referring exactly?
Or is this like a flag emoji that is not being translated correctly.
What does abortion have to do with guns coming out of Florida to Haiti (no flag emoji used)
I was not talking about you, or any of your posts ..
so please ABC your way out of this one .. not looking for a game of Star Trek Chess with you .
Follow the posts if you want to
thank you
If post #83 was not meant for consumption of the public forum then why did you make it.
I am not looking for a game of Star Wars Chess (remember the scene out the first one) with you.
I asked for clarification of a public post that you made.
If you choose not provide that clarification because you wanted to have a private conversation with someone...
Then perhaps you should send them a direct message next time.
There is really no need for your undignified response.
No emojis were used to compose this message.
I'm not a big fan of abortions however it must be said...
I can say with a clear conscience I believe all of the people/ organizations (NGOs/Charities) who are aiding and abetting this violence should have been consumed, not conceived.
Perhaps the article that I posted on my blog might help a bit in this conversation http://elizabetheames.blogspot.com/2022/11/the-original-article-appears-here.html
It is a reprint from The Haitian Times which is the largest paper in the USA for the Haitian diaspora. The editor and author is a Pulitzer Prize winner.
It may help others understand that the folks who are "in charge" inside Haiti - the ones who have the economic clout - are not "Haitian" - or at least not considered "Haitians" by other Haitians in that they are not Black. Most are Middle Eastern - and even though some have families that have been there since the mid-1800s - they are STILL not considered "Haitians" -- (as in the first Black Republic- slaves overthrew the whites, etc etc etc)
It is the BAMBAMs - also called the Oligarchs- who are held most responsible for the rise and funding of the gangs. They are the ones with the $$
It is a reprint from The Haitian Times which is the largest paper in the USA for the Haitian diaspora. The editor and author is a Pulitzer Prize winner.
It may help others understand that the folks who are "in charge" inside Haiti - the ones who have the economic clout - are not "Haitian" - or at least not considered "Haitians" by other Haitians in that they are not Black. Most are Middle Eastern - and even though some have families that have been there since the mid-1800s - they are STILL not considered "Haitians" -- (as in the first Black Republic- slaves overthrew the whites, etc etc etc)
It is the BAMBAMs - also called the Oligarchs- who are held most responsible for the rise and funding of the gangs. They are the ones with the $$
from the link posted above
SNIP
Unlike the situation described by the Multinational Monitor in 1995, today, there are heavily-armed gangs in different parts of Haiti. However, these are not peasants who are organized for revolution. As Arnel Joseph confessed back in 2019, several gangs were created, armed and mobilized by members of the BAMBAM, the illegal Parti Haitien Tèt Kale (PHTK) regime in power since 2011, and its foreign allies/accomplices. Installed PHTK president Martelly would go on to recruit several criminals to join his administration.
In “Confessions of Haitian Kidnapper Arnel Joseph ,” the author states:
“Zuraik, a good friend of (PHTK Senator) Gracia Delva, recommended Arnel to Reynold Deeb who needed someone to monitor the environment at Port-au-Prince customs. He found Arnel at the right time. Indeed, the war was waging between Deeb and Bigio who had launched the gangs of Chancerelles and Bas Delmas. In Arnel, Deeb found his game-changer for the control of Lower Town and, thus, won the war against Bigio. Since then, he has elevated Arnel among his important pawns”.
SNIP
Unlike the situation described by the Multinational Monitor in 1995, today, there are heavily-armed gangs in different parts of Haiti. However, these are not peasants who are organized for revolution. As Arnel Joseph confessed back in 2019, several gangs were created, armed and mobilized by members of the BAMBAM, the illegal Parti Haitien Tèt Kale (PHTK) regime in power since 2011, and its foreign allies/accomplices. Installed PHTK president Martelly would go on to recruit several criminals to join his administration.
In “Confessions of Haitian Kidnapper Arnel Joseph ,” the author states:
“Zuraik, a good friend of (PHTK Senator) Gracia Delva, recommended Arnel to Reynold Deeb who needed someone to monitor the environment at Port-au-Prince customs. He found Arnel at the right time. Indeed, the war was waging between Deeb and Bigio who had launched the gangs of Chancerelles and Bas Delmas. In Arnel, Deeb found his game-changer for the control of Lower Town and, thus, won the war against Bigio. Since then, he has elevated Arnel among his important pawns”.
Back in '94, Aristide (firebrand priest preaching Liberation Theology) was ousted by a coup d'stat. He went into exile in the USA which released the $9million which #Haiti had on deposit in the US since he was the duly elected President. JBA used the money in a lobbying campaign to have himself restored - primarily through the Congressional Black Caucus which assured Bill Clinton that they would deny him the Black vote unless Artistide was restored. Which Clinton did. https://www.sevenstories.com/books/3364-notes-from-the-last-testament
During that time, there was an international embargo - which was not applied to the Oligarchs -
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/25/world/despite-embargo-haiti-s-rich-seem-to-get-richer.html (let me know if you can not read this link - it is an archive link for subscribers and I am not sure it will get you through the pay wall.}
Also during that time, the DR exported eggs to #Haiti at what Haitians report as below production costs (known as "dumping") which led to a complete collapse of the local egg production. This was followed in 1981 by an outbreak of swine flu on the DR side of the island and Haitians were "ordered" to slaughter their kreyole pigs - which "command" they obeyed. The pigs were replaced with pigs from Iowa which ate more than 5 Haitians! But the Iowa pigs have gone native now and are the main collectors of organic waste in PauP. I saw a lot of them back in 2008 although I suspect they have all been eaten by now.
During that time, there was an international embargo - which was not applied to the Oligarchs -
https://www.nytimes.com/1994/05/25/world/despite-embargo-haiti-s-rich-seem-to-get-richer.html (let me know if you can not read this link - it is an archive link for subscribers and I am not sure it will get you through the pay wall.}
Also during that time, the DR exported eggs to #Haiti at what Haitians report as below production costs (known as "dumping") which led to a complete collapse of the local egg production. This was followed in 1981 by an outbreak of swine flu on the DR side of the island and Haitians were "ordered" to slaughter their kreyole pigs - which "command" they obeyed. The pigs were replaced with pigs from Iowa which ate more than 5 Haitians! But the Iowa pigs have gone native now and are the main collectors of organic waste in PauP. I saw a lot of them back in 2008 although I suspect they have all been eaten by now.
Over on Twitter, I am having a discussion with the Haitian Twitterers on the transport of guns. We are making some progress. I keep reposting the link to the tip line at ATF https://www.atf.gov/atf-tips (which could also be used to report any Dominican gun runners should anyone know any of them!)/ Questions still arise on how it is that the US Coast Guard can intercept people but not the guns. I point out that one is outgoing in open boats. the other incoming inside containers. So now we are getting a bit more information
Here are the managers of Port Lafito https://portlafito.com/about-us/management/ which is a huge operation...
So fingers crossed that some folks are going to start "dropping the dime" (an American expression from back in the day of public telephone days when a call cost 10cents which is call a dime)
Here are the managers of Port Lafito https://portlafito.com/about-us/management/ which is a huge operation...
So fingers crossed that some folks are going to start "dropping the dime" (an American expression from back in the day of public telephone days when a call cost 10cents which is call a dime)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Bigio
SNIP
Gilbert Bigio is a retired Haitian businessman. He is the founder of GB Group and Haiti's only billionaire. He was sanctioned by the Government of Canada for his involvement in arms trafficking and human rights violations in Haiti. Bigio is also the de facto leader of Haiti's Jewish community and an honorary consul to Israel.[1][2][3]
Bigio's name appeared in the 2021 Pandora Papers leak of secret offshore company documents by the ICIJ. In an accounting document from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, Bigio was revealed as the buyer of Epstein's Mercedes Maybach at a price of $132,000.[4] Other leaked documents showed Bigio moving wealth to Miami and Switzerland through offshore companies in different tax havens.[5]
SNIP
| Gilbert Bigio | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1935 |
| Nationality | Haitian |
| Occupation | Founder of GB Group |
| Known for | Wealthiest person in Haiti |
Bigio's name appeared in the 2021 Pandora Papers leak of secret offshore company documents by the ICIJ. In an accounting document from the estate of Jeffrey Epstein, Bigio was revealed as the buyer of Epstein's Mercedes Maybach at a price of $132,000.[4] Other leaked documents showed Bigio moving wealth to Miami and Switzerland through offshore companies in different tax havens.[5]
Indeed.
If only we could go back to the good old days of Papa Doc.
Interesting news:
Drug trafficker detained in the DR, pleads guilty in Miami to the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse
By @newsmsm
SANTO DOMINGO. Businessman Rudolph Jaar pleaded guilty this Friday in federal court in Miami to the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
He admitted providing money and housing to Colombians and other suspects and bribing the president's security agents.
At Friday's hearing, US District Judge Jose Martinez asked Jaar about the prosecutor's reading of a factual statement that accompanied his guilty plea: "Is it true?" Jaar's response: "Yes, his lordship."
Jaar then pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to provide material support and conspiring to kidnap and kill the President of Haiti, each carrying a possible life sentence.
Under his plea agreement, Jaar faces between 30 years and life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for June 3.
But because he was the first to accept responsibility for his role in the murder conspiracy and is cooperating with federal authorities, Jaar could receive less than 30 years.
Jaar was one of the main suspects in the murder, according to a detailed report by the Haitian National Police, which describes him as providing accommodation to Colombian hitmen, as well as weapons.
Rudolph Jaar had been detained in the Dominican Republic at the request of US authorities on the basis of evidence provided to the FBI after eluding capture for six months following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at his home in Port-au. -Prince.
Facebook: News Focus
By @newsmsm
SANTO DOMINGO. Businessman Rudolph Jaar pleaded guilty this Friday in federal court in Miami to the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse.
He admitted providing money and housing to Colombians and other suspects and bribing the president's security agents.
At Friday's hearing, US District Judge Jose Martinez asked Jaar about the prosecutor's reading of a factual statement that accompanied his guilty plea: "Is it true?" Jaar's response: "Yes, his lordship."
Jaar then pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to provide material support and conspiring to kidnap and kill the President of Haiti, each carrying a possible life sentence.
Under his plea agreement, Jaar faces between 30 years and life in prison at his sentencing scheduled for June 3.
But because he was the first to accept responsibility for his role in the murder conspiracy and is cooperating with federal authorities, Jaar could receive less than 30 years.
Jaar was one of the main suspects in the murder, according to a detailed report by the Haitian National Police, which describes him as providing accommodation to Colombian hitmen, as well as weapons.
Rudolph Jaar had been detained in the Dominican Republic at the request of US authorities on the basis of evidence provided to the FBI after eluding capture for six months following the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse at his home in Port-au. -Prince.
Facebook: News Focus
Perhaps .. but the intellectual authors are deep in the PHTK.... et al.
A convicted Haitian drug trafficker pleaded guilty Friday to providing money to pay for weapons, food and lodging for Colombian commandos and others suspected of executing the fatal shooting of Haiti’s president, marking the first guilty plea in the murder conspiracy case in Miami federal court.
Rodolphe Jaar, 50, who cooperated with U.S. investigators in a major cocaine-smuggling probe a decade ago, is hoping that same strategy might help him avoid a potential life sentence for providing “material support” in the conspiracy to kidnap and kill Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. The deadly plot was coordinated among various suspects in South Florida, Haiti and Colombia, including Jaar and 10 others who have been charged by indictment in Miami.
Federal prosecutor Monica Castro said Jaar not only supplied money for the assassination plan, but that he also “provided funding to bribe certain Haitian officials who were responsible for providing security to President Moïse so that Jaar’s co-conspirators would be able to obtain access to [him] during the operation” at his residence outside Port-au-Prince in the middle of the night.
At Friday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez pointedly asked Jaar about the prosecutor’s reading of a factual statement that accompanied his plea agreement: “Is it true?”
Jaar’s reply: “Yes, your honor.”
Jaar then pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to provide material support, providing material support and conspiring to kidnap and kill Haiti’s president — each of which carries a potential life sentence. Under his plea agreement, Jaar faces between 30 years and life at his sentencing scheduled for June 2.
But, because he was the first to accept responsibility for his role in the assassination conspiracy and is cooperating with federal authorities, Jaar could receive less than 30 years.
So far, he has provided critical information that has helped agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations build a stronger conspiracy case against the 10 other Haitian, Colombian and South Florida suspects now in federal custody in the assassination of Haiti’s president. The remaining defendants are scheduled for trial on conspiracy or smuggling charges in May.
Jaar, who had operated a poultry business in Haiti, was alleged to be raising funds prior to the assassination, according to Haitians familiar with the president’s killing. Both a Haitian and Chilean citizen, Jaar was the second suspect to be arrested in the U.S. probe of Moïse’s assassination. He agreed to be flown to Miami in January 2022 after his arrest in the Dominican Republic.
Jaar admitted meeting with a key Haitian-American co-conspirator and to helping him and others carry out Moïse’s assassination, according to the factual statement filed with his plea agreement signed by him, defense attorney Frank Schwartz and prosecutors Andrea Goldbarg and Castro.
During an interview in December while in hiding in Port-au-Prince and weeks before his arrest, Jaar admitted to U.S. investigators that “he provided firearms and ammunition to the Colombians to support the assassination operation,” according to an FBI criminal complaint and affidavit.
“He stated that the operation changed from an arrest ... [to remove Moïse from office] to an assassination operation after the initial plan to ‘capture’ the Haitian president at the [Port-au-Prince] airport and take him away by plane did not go forward,” the affidavit says.
The Haitian businessman not only provided weapons to the Colombian commandos to carry out the mission targeting Moïse, but also met with an unnamed collaborator, identified in the affidavit as “co-conspirator #1,” one of three Haitian Americans formerly jailed in Haiti and now in federal custody in Miami.
The co-conspirator is James Solages, who was flown from Haiti to Miami in late January.
The Miami Herald previously reported that Solages and other co-conspirators said they were at Jaar’s home before the attack; the paper obtained phone records showing that several main suspects had gathered at a residence in the Thomassin area of the capital.
Castro, the prosecutor, said at Friday’s court hearing that a critical meeting was held “at a property controlled by Jaar” on July 6, 2021, during which they discussed launching the assassination plan. According to the prosecutor, Solages told Jaar and other co-conspirators that the operation’s goal was to kill Haiti’s president.
Solages claims he was a translator and has pleaded not guilty in Miami federal court, but he was at the president’s home when Moïse was killed and shouted that the assault was a “DEA operation.”
According to witness statements, Jaar also collaborated with Solages and others in a plot to have Moïse arrested in mid-June of 2021 at the Port-au-Prince airport upon his return from an official visit to Turkey.
But after that initial plot failed, “co-conspirator #1” [Solages] traveled from Haiti to Miami on June 28, 2021, and “provided other individuals” with a request for assistance in targeting Haiti’s president, the affidavit says. Solages allegedly shared that information with a Miami-area security firm, Counter Terrorist Unit Security (CTU), whose owner, Antonio Intriago, was arrested last month. Through his lawyers, Intriago says he had no knowledge of the assassination plan and has pleaded not guilty.
“According to interviews of several co-conspirators in Haitian custody, by this point certain co-conspirators had knowledge of, or at least believed, that the plan was to assassinate rather than kidnap President Moïse,” the FBI affidavit says. On July 1, “co-conspirator #1 [Solages] flew from Florida to Haiti to participate in the operation.”
On July 7, a group of Colombian commandos, Haiti police working security and others stormed the president’s hillside compound in Pétionville and entered his home with the “intent and purpose of killing” Moïse, the affidavit says. Later that day, Jaar spoke with “co-conspirator #1” and others to assist [Solages] and the Colombians, “who were hiding and feared that they would be captured and/or killed by Haitian authorities.”
The federal investigation took a dramatic turn last month when U.S. agents arrested four suspects in South Florida on charges of playing central roles in the plot to kill Moïse, focusing on the weapons, ballistic vests and financing that authorities say fueled the deadly scheme.
The arrests came more than a year and a half after U.S. authorities launched their investigation. Despite significant progress of late, it’s still unclear who was the ultimate mastermind of the assassination plot targeting Moïse.
“While the murder of President Moïse occurred in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, most of the planning, funding and direction of the plot to violently overthrow the president occurred right here in the United States in the Southern District of Florida, beginning in early 2021,” United States Attorney Markenzy Lapointe said at a news conference in mid-February.
Three of the defendants — Intriago, owner of Doral-based Counter Terrorist Unit Security, or CTU; Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, operator of the affiliate CTU Federal Academy LLC; and Walter Veintemilla, head of Miramar-based Worldwide Capital Lending Group — are charged with supporting a conspiracy to kidnap and kill the president of Haiti. All three pleaded not guilty, but they were denied bail before trial.
The fourth defendant, Frederick Bergmann Jr., was described as being part of the financing arm of the operation. He is charged with conspiring to smuggle ballistic vests to former Colombian soldiers who allegedly carried out the fatal shooting of Moïse and seriously wounded the president’s wife, Martine Moïse. He’s also charged with failing to file valid export paperwork when the 20 smuggled vests, which are bulletproof, were shipped on June 10, 2021, from Miami to Port-au-Prince before the assassination. The shipment was marked “medical x-ray vests and school supplies.”
Bergmann also pleaded not guilty. But he was granted bail before trial and was released.
Also charged with the same smuggling offense: Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 64, a Haiti doctor and pastor who split his time between the United States and his Caribbean homeland. Authorities said it was his goal to replace Moïse as president, but the co-conspirators abandoned him as a potential successor in June 2021, before the assassination.
Meanwhile, Haitian authorities have made more than 40 arrests in their parallel case, including Moise’s security coordinator, Jean Laguel Civil. They claim he paid out $80,000 in bribes to police to stand down or not show up to work on the day of the deadly attack.
So far, no one has been officially charged in Haiti’s investigation, which is now being supervised by the fifth investigative judge.
Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles contributed to this story.
www.yahoo.com
Rodolphe Jaar, 50, who cooperated with U.S. investigators in a major cocaine-smuggling probe a decade ago, is hoping that same strategy might help him avoid a potential life sentence for providing “material support” in the conspiracy to kidnap and kill Haitian President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. The deadly plot was coordinated among various suspects in South Florida, Haiti and Colombia, including Jaar and 10 others who have been charged by indictment in Miami.
Federal prosecutor Monica Castro said Jaar not only supplied money for the assassination plan, but that he also “provided funding to bribe certain Haitian officials who were responsible for providing security to President Moïse so that Jaar’s co-conspirators would be able to obtain access to [him] during the operation” at his residence outside Port-au-Prince in the middle of the night.
At Friday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Jose Martinez pointedly asked Jaar about the prosecutor’s reading of a factual statement that accompanied his plea agreement: “Is it true?”
Jaar’s reply: “Yes, your honor.”
Jaar then pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiring to provide material support, providing material support and conspiring to kidnap and kill Haiti’s president — each of which carries a potential life sentence. Under his plea agreement, Jaar faces between 30 years and life at his sentencing scheduled for June 2.
But, because he was the first to accept responsibility for his role in the assassination conspiracy and is cooperating with federal authorities, Jaar could receive less than 30 years.
So far, he has provided critical information that has helped agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations build a stronger conspiracy case against the 10 other Haitian, Colombian and South Florida suspects now in federal custody in the assassination of Haiti’s president. The remaining defendants are scheduled for trial on conspiracy or smuggling charges in May.
Jaar, who had operated a poultry business in Haiti, was alleged to be raising funds prior to the assassination, according to Haitians familiar with the president’s killing. Both a Haitian and Chilean citizen, Jaar was the second suspect to be arrested in the U.S. probe of Moïse’s assassination. He agreed to be flown to Miami in January 2022 after his arrest in the Dominican Republic.
Jaar admitted meeting with a key Haitian-American co-conspirator and to helping him and others carry out Moïse’s assassination, according to the factual statement filed with his plea agreement signed by him, defense attorney Frank Schwartz and prosecutors Andrea Goldbarg and Castro.
During an interview in December while in hiding in Port-au-Prince and weeks before his arrest, Jaar admitted to U.S. investigators that “he provided firearms and ammunition to the Colombians to support the assassination operation,” according to an FBI criminal complaint and affidavit.
“He stated that the operation changed from an arrest ... [to remove Moïse from office] to an assassination operation after the initial plan to ‘capture’ the Haitian president at the [Port-au-Prince] airport and take him away by plane did not go forward,” the affidavit says.
The Haitian businessman not only provided weapons to the Colombian commandos to carry out the mission targeting Moïse, but also met with an unnamed collaborator, identified in the affidavit as “co-conspirator #1,” one of three Haitian Americans formerly jailed in Haiti and now in federal custody in Miami.
The co-conspirator is James Solages, who was flown from Haiti to Miami in late January.
The Miami Herald previously reported that Solages and other co-conspirators said they were at Jaar’s home before the attack; the paper obtained phone records showing that several main suspects had gathered at a residence in the Thomassin area of the capital.
Castro, the prosecutor, said at Friday’s court hearing that a critical meeting was held “at a property controlled by Jaar” on July 6, 2021, during which they discussed launching the assassination plan. According to the prosecutor, Solages told Jaar and other co-conspirators that the operation’s goal was to kill Haiti’s president.
Solages claims he was a translator and has pleaded not guilty in Miami federal court, but he was at the president’s home when Moïse was killed and shouted that the assault was a “DEA operation.”
According to witness statements, Jaar also collaborated with Solages and others in a plot to have Moïse arrested in mid-June of 2021 at the Port-au-Prince airport upon his return from an official visit to Turkey.
But after that initial plot failed, “co-conspirator #1” [Solages] traveled from Haiti to Miami on June 28, 2021, and “provided other individuals” with a request for assistance in targeting Haiti’s president, the affidavit says. Solages allegedly shared that information with a Miami-area security firm, Counter Terrorist Unit Security (CTU), whose owner, Antonio Intriago, was arrested last month. Through his lawyers, Intriago says he had no knowledge of the assassination plan and has pleaded not guilty.
“According to interviews of several co-conspirators in Haitian custody, by this point certain co-conspirators had knowledge of, or at least believed, that the plan was to assassinate rather than kidnap President Moïse,” the FBI affidavit says. On July 1, “co-conspirator #1 [Solages] flew from Florida to Haiti to participate in the operation.”
On July 7, a group of Colombian commandos, Haiti police working security and others stormed the president’s hillside compound in Pétionville and entered his home with the “intent and purpose of killing” Moïse, the affidavit says. Later that day, Jaar spoke with “co-conspirator #1” and others to assist [Solages] and the Colombians, “who were hiding and feared that they would be captured and/or killed by Haitian authorities.”
The federal investigation took a dramatic turn last month when U.S. agents arrested four suspects in South Florida on charges of playing central roles in the plot to kill Moïse, focusing on the weapons, ballistic vests and financing that authorities say fueled the deadly scheme.
The arrests came more than a year and a half after U.S. authorities launched their investigation. Despite significant progress of late, it’s still unclear who was the ultimate mastermind of the assassination plot targeting Moïse.
“While the murder of President Moïse occurred in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, most of the planning, funding and direction of the plot to violently overthrow the president occurred right here in the United States in the Southern District of Florida, beginning in early 2021,” United States Attorney Markenzy Lapointe said at a news conference in mid-February.
Three of the defendants — Intriago, owner of Doral-based Counter Terrorist Unit Security, or CTU; Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, operator of the affiliate CTU Federal Academy LLC; and Walter Veintemilla, head of Miramar-based Worldwide Capital Lending Group — are charged with supporting a conspiracy to kidnap and kill the president of Haiti. All three pleaded not guilty, but they were denied bail before trial.
The fourth defendant, Frederick Bergmann Jr., was described as being part of the financing arm of the operation. He is charged with conspiring to smuggle ballistic vests to former Colombian soldiers who allegedly carried out the fatal shooting of Moïse and seriously wounded the president’s wife, Martine Moïse. He’s also charged with failing to file valid export paperwork when the 20 smuggled vests, which are bulletproof, were shipped on June 10, 2021, from Miami to Port-au-Prince before the assassination. The shipment was marked “medical x-ray vests and school supplies.”
Bergmann also pleaded not guilty. But he was granted bail before trial and was released.
Also charged with the same smuggling offense: Christian Emmanuel Sanon, 64, a Haiti doctor and pastor who split his time between the United States and his Caribbean homeland. Authorities said it was his goal to replace Moïse as president, but the co-conspirators abandoned him as a potential successor in June 2021, before the assassination.
Meanwhile, Haitian authorities have made more than 40 arrests in their parallel case, including Moise’s security coordinator, Jean Laguel Civil. They claim he paid out $80,000 in bribes to police to stand down or not show up to work on the day of the deadly attack.
So far, no one has been officially charged in Haiti’s investigation, which is now being supervised by the fifth investigative judge.
Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles contributed to this story.
First guilty plea in assassination of Haiti’s president. Drug dealer admits backing plot
Convicted Haitian drug trafficker admits supplying money for plot to kill Haiti’s president in 2021