Suspects in the murder of Haiti’s president have gathered to plan a future without him

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BOGOTO, Colombia – Several central figures under investigation by Haitian authorities in connection with the assassination of President Jovenel Moss met in the months leading up to the killing to discuss rebuilding the troubled country once the president is out of power, according to Haitian police. , Colombian intelligence officers and participants in the discussions.

The meetings, which have been held in Florida and the Dominican Republic over the past year, seem to link a seemingly disparate group of suspects in the investigation, linking a doctor and a 63-year-old pastor, a security equipment seller, and a mortgage and insurance broker. in Florida.

Haitian authorities have identified all of them as leading players in a sprawling plot to kill the president with the help of more than 20 ex-Colombian commandos and seize political power in the aftermath. It is unclear how they could have achieved this, or who the strong supporters might have had to achieve this.

But interviews with more than a dozen people involved with the men show that the suspects have been working together for months, portraying themselves in huge and often exaggerated terms as well-financed, connected power brokers ready to lead a new Haiti with an influential American. support behind them.

Haitian officials claim that Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a doctor and pastor who divided his time between Florida and Haiti, conspired with others to take over the reins of the country once Mr. Moyes was murdered. During the raid on Mr. Sanon’s home, they said, police found six holsters, about 20 boxes of lead and a DEA hat – suggesting they linked him to the murder because the team of men who hit Mr. Moyes’ home impersonated DEA agents.

Haitian authorities detained him but offered little explanation for how Mr. Sanon, who was not in an elected office, planned to take power once the president was killed. It was also difficult to fathom how he had hired a team of mercenaries to carry out the assault, given that he filed in Florida for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in 2013.

But interviews show that several of the main suspects gathered to discuss Haiti’s future government once Mr. Moyes was no longer in power – with Mr. Sanon becoming the country’s new prime minister.

“The idea was to prepare for that possibility,” said Parnell Duverger, a retired assistant professor of economics at Broward College in Florida, who attended about 10 meetings on Zoom and in person with Mr. Sanon and other experts to discuss Haiti’s future government.

“At the time of the meetings, he all thought he was going to become prime minister,” Duverger said, adding that Mr. Sanon presented himself as having the backing of Democratic and Republican politicians in the United States, Haiti’s strongest international backer.

Duverger stressed that no one ever discussed, let alone plotting, a coup or assassination. “I would have stopped attending if anyone mentioned a coup, let alone murder.”

On the contrary, he added, the expectation at the meetings was that President Moss – who faced months of violent street protests calling for his removal – would eventually have no choice but to step down. Mr Duverger, 70, described the meetings as Cabinet-style sessions aimed at helping Mr Sanon put together a potential transitional government once that happened.

Duverger said he believes Mr. Sanon is innocent. But regarding his claims that he would be a prime minister waiting for him, he added, “I constantly ask myself, there must be something wrong with me for being so naive. I believed him. I thought so, because I thought a new transitional government was needed in Haiti.”

Among those participating in the meetings were at least two other key suspects, Duverger said, who have since been identified by Haitian officials as central to the plot. One of them was Antonio Intriago, who owned the security and special equipment company that hired ex-Colombian commandos and brought them to Haiti.

The other was Walter Ventimila, who leads a small financial services company in Miramar, Florida, called Worldwide Capital Lending Group. On Wednesday, Haitian authorities accused him of helping finance the assassination plot.

Haitian officials are investigating whether the president’s own protection force was also involved, and on Thursday the head of palace security for Mr. Moyes was taken into police custody. Colombian officials say he made frequent stops in Colombia on his way to other countries in the months before the assassination.

Neither Mr. Intriago nor Mr. Veintemilla, both in Florida, responded to repeated requests for comment through their businesses and relatives. Their whereabouts, and whether the Haitians sought to charge them with any crimes, is unknown. But officials from Haiti and Colombia say that in late May, after some former Colombian soldiers appointed by Mr. Entreago arrived in Haiti, he and Mr. Ventimila in the neighboring Dominican Republic met Mr. Sanon.

Haitian and Colombian officials said Wednesday that a photograph showed the three men meeting with another suspect in the investigation: James Solajis, a Haitian American resident in South Florida who was arrested by Haitian authorities shortly after the assassination.

It is not clear whether any of the discussions were involved in a nefarious plot that led to the murder of Mr. Moss. Haitian police have provided little concrete evidence, and US and Colombian officials familiar with the investigation said their officers in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, were unable to interview most of the suspects until Wednesday morning, forcing them to rely on accounts by Haitian authorities.

Another participant in one of the meetings with Mr. Sanon also said that there was no hint of a plot to kill the president.

“Never!!! Never!!! Never!!!” One of the attendees, Franz Gilot, a UN advisor, said in a text message, adding that about 20 people were present. “Sanon presented himself as a potential candidate, and spoke about his dream and vision for Haiti,” he said.

More than a dozen interviews with relatives of the Colombian commandos—plus an audio recording of how the soldiers’ mission in Haiti was presented to them—show that many of the prime suspects have greatly exaggerated their experience and financial capabilities, and deeply misled them. At least some of the Colombian soldiers he hired

In April, Mr. Intriago’s CTU Security contacted retired Colombian army sergeant Duberney Capador, asking him to form a group of ex-commandos “to protect important people in Haiti,” according to Mr. Capador’s sister, Yenny Carolina Capador.

“We will help restore the country, in terms of its security and democracy,” Mr. Cappador wrote in one of his enlistment offers that he later sent to other ex-soldiers on WhatsApp. “We will be pioneers.”

Mr. Cappador reached out to his vast network of military comrades, most of whom are in their early forties, recently retired from the armed forces and struggling to find well-paying jobs in Colombia.

The New York Times interviewed 15 family members of the Colombian soldiers involved in the attack, as well as 14 men who were recruited for the operation but ended up not going in June — in some cases because they were part of a second wave of men who were due to arrive on time. Later, they said.

In interviews, several wives of the recruits said Mr. Cappador assured the men that the process was sponsored by a US company – and in some cases told them it was subsidized by the US government – and promised to pay the men $2,700 a month. , a life-changing sum.

Many ex-soldiers took the opportunity, agreeing to take the job even though some did not know where to turn or who specifically they would protect, according to their family members.

A group of about two dozen Colombians arrived in Port-au-Prince between early May and June 6, according to interviews with relatives. Mr. Cappador told the recruits that they would fight criminal gangs, secure critical infrastructure, and guard personalities and investors, with the support of a major US corporation.

Instead, they found themselves confined to a hut and spent the next month exercising indoors, attending English and cooking classes, relatives said, who kept in daily contact with the recruits. Colombian officials said Thursday that Sanon also met with leaders of former Colombian soldiers shortly after they arrived in Haiti in May.

In mid-June, the ex-soldiers were introduced to a Spanish-speaking man claiming to represent Worldwide Capital, the name of Mr Veintemilla’s company, according to a recording made by one of the former Colombian soldiers. At the same session, the speaker introduced Mr. Solajis, a Haitian American who is now in detention, describing him as a seasoned international investor leading the reconstruction of Haiti.

The speaker went on to introduce Worldwide Capital as a multinational conglomerate of 200 subsidiaries that has worked with governments on security and reconstruction in dozens of countries around the world, including the United States, Spain, Somalia and Iraq.

There is little evidence that Worldwide Capital, operating from a small stand in a suburban business center in Florida, has played a significant role in major global projects. The company’s websites, which claim to offer general financial services such as mortgages and insurance, do not mention any notable deals.

And the owner of the company that hired the Colombian commandos, Mr. Intriago, has a history of debts, evictions and bankruptcies. Several relatives of the Colombian soldiers said they had not received their promised salaries.

After the assassination, the Haitian authorities arrested 18 Colombian soldiers and accused them of participating in the killing. Three other Colombians, including the recruit, Mr. Cabador, were killed in the hours following the president’s death.

“What happened there?” The wife of one of the detained former soldiers said, on condition of anonymity for her safety. “How does this end?”

Reporting was contributed by Meirelles Morales of Miramar, Florida; Sofia Villamil from Bogotá, Colombia; Edinson Bolanos of Villavicencio, Colombia; Zulan Kanoo Youngs from Washington. and Catherine Porter.

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