Washington: Four suspects were detained and charged by US federal agents in Florida for alleged roles in the plot that resulted in the murder of Haitian President Jovenel Moise in 2021, according to authorities on Tuesday.

The murder of Moise created a political void in the Caribbean country and gave strong gangs more room to operate as the de facto government in many areas of Port-au-Prince, the nation's capital. According to the Justice Department, a South Florida grand jury has now charged eleven people with the murder and placed them in US custody.

US authorities said in a briefing that three of the new defendants — Walter Veintemilla, the head of Miramar-based Worldwide Capital Lending Group; Arcangel Pretel Ortiz, the owner of the affiliated CTU Federal Academy LLC; and Antonio "Tony" Intriago, the owner of Counter Terrorist Unit Security, or CTU — are accused of aiding a plot to kidnap or kill the president of Haiti.

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Officials added that Frederick Bergmann, the fourth defendant, is charged with planning to smuggle ballistic vests for the alleged former Colombian soldiers who shot Moise to death. Their focus is on the equipment used in the deadly scheme, including the weapons, ballistic vests, and funding.

Pretel Ortiz is a citizen of Colombia and America, whereas Intriago is a businessman who is both Venezuelan and American. The Justice Department informed reporters that both were being held in South Florida. US citizen Veintemilla provided CTU Security with a loan of more than $170,000 to support their operations in Haiti, according to the officials.

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The Miami Herald and the New York Times published stories about the arrests and charges earlier on Tuesday. The New York Times was informed by Intriago's attorney that he planned to enter a not guilty plea at his bond hearing on Tuesday.

Since the murder, Haitian gangs have increased their geographic reach. The ensuing violence has rendered much of the nation inaccessible to the government and resulted in frequent gunfights with police.

The United Nations recommended in October that a "rapid action force" be sent to Haiti to combat the rising violence caused by armed gangs, whose turf wars have resulted in hundreds of fatalities and thousands of displaced people.

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A day before leaders of the Caribbean bloc, CARICOM, are scheduled to meet for a three-day conference where the situation in Haiti is anticipated to be one of the main issues, the latest arrests in the United States have taken place.