Trial Begins for Four in Moïse Assassination Plot

Jury selection began on Monday in Miami federal court for four men charged with conspiring in South Florida to assassinate Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The trial, which opened with statements from prosecutors and defense attorneys on Tuesday, centers on allegations that the defendants orchestrated a plot driven by financial gain and political ambition, leading to the president's death at his residence in Port-au-Prince.

Prosecutors described the assassination as a scheme fueled by greed, arrogance and a desire for power. Moïse, Haiti's last elected leader, was shot 12 times in his bedroom in the early hours of July 7, 2021, dying instantly from wounds to his face, chest and limbs. His wife, Martine Moïse, suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and survived after being airlifted to the United States for treatment. She is expected to testify, recounting that she heard attackers speaking Spanish during the assault.

The defendants on trial are Arcangel Pretel Ortiz and Antonio Intriago, co-owners of the Miami-area security firms Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy and Counter Terrorist Unit Security, known collectively as CTU; Walter Veintemilla, an Ecuadorian...