Testimony in Miami federal trial reveals major forensic gaps in 2021 investigation — even basic evidence kits were not brought to Haiti
More than four years after the July 7, 2021, assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, the FBI’s lead case agent testified in Miami federal court that investigators never dusted for fingerprints, swabbed for DNA, or collected blood samples from the crime scene — despite visible bullet holes, pools of blood, and other potential evidence.
FBI Special Agent Martin Suarez took the stand Monday, March 16, and returned Tuesday as the government’s witness in the high-profile conspiracy trial of four South Florida men accused of orchestrating the plot to hire more than 20 former Colombian soldiers to kill Moïse.
“We did the best we could while we were at the residence, but timing was a factor,” Suarez testified, according to court accounts reported by the Miami Herald. He and his team arrived in Port-au-Prince on July 13, 2021 — eight days after the killing — and conducted a six-hour search of the president’s hillside residence in Pétion-Ville. They observed bullet holes in walls and windows, pools of blood beside the bed where Moïse had been sleeping, and possible blood droplets from his wounded wife, Martine Moïse. Yet none of the blood was analyzed, and more than 40 items collected as evidence — including spent bullet casings, ammunition boxes, cell phones, radios, and a flash-bang device — were ultimately seized by Haitian police after the FBI was initially told it could take them.
Suarez’s colleague, FBI Agent Jose Loureiro, testified Tuesday that the team did not even bring a fingerprint kit. The reason: Colombian authorities had already identified the suspects as the Colombian mercenaries, so there was “no need to confirm” their presence in the bedroom before questioning them.
The lack of basic forensics has become a central point of contention as the trial enters its second week. Standing trial are Arcángel Pretel Ortiz, Antonio Intriago, James Solages, and Walter Veintemilla. Prosecutors allege the men conspired from South Florida to recruit the ex-Colombian commandos to assassinate Moïse so they could secure lucrative government contracts from his successor.
The revelations have intensified scrutiny of the investigation’s handling from the earliest stages, raising questions about evidence preservation, chain of custody, and whether critical forensic opportunities were missed in the chaotic aftermath of the killing.
L’Union Suite will continue following the trial, including upcoming testimony, defense arguments, and any further disclosures that could affect the pursuit of justice for President Moïse and the Haitian people.
Nearly five years later, the truth remains elusive — but the search continues.
