Some private security companies have a tough time paying debts and declaring bankruptcy. So, when a suitable opportunity arises, they hang on to it. Allegedly, this is what happened during the Haiti assassination, when a group of foreign mercenaries killed the country’s president.
Even though this is in the realm of speculation, the owner of Miami-based CTU Security, Antonio Intriago, seized the opportunity to revive his failing firm. He hired more than 20 former soldiers from Colombia for the job.
In the aftermath of the Haiti assassination, all the Colombians have been either captured or killed. Additionally, Intriago’s business faces questions on the company’s role in the killing.
The plot came under the public’s eye on Wednesday. It was then that the head of Haiti’s National Police, Léon Charles, accused Intriago of preparing the assassination. He also imputed him for signing a contract while traveling to the country. However, he didn’t provide any evidence or further details on the matter.
In a public appearance, Charles said that “the investigation is very advanced.”
The Background of the Haiti Assassination
Family members of some Colombian hires claim that the company told them that the mission entailed providing protection for VIPs. As a result, eighteen Colombians are behind bars, and three were killed.
It’s challenging to discern allegations from facts. Especially as the public authorities in Colombia, including the competent diplomats, have no access to those in jail.
Gen. Jorge Luis Vargas, Colombia’s national police chief, told reporters in Bogota that CTU Security used its company credit card to purchase 19 plane tickets. The alleged suspects flew from Bogota to Santo Domingo.
Duberney Capador, one of the killed Colombians, wore a black CTU Security polo shirt. What’s more, he photographed himself in it.
On a different note, attorney and ex-soldier Nelson Romero Velasquez advises 16 families of the Colombians held in Haiti’s jails. He said that “they have the ability to be like shadows.” Velasquez bases his statement on the fact that the assassins all served in the Colombian military’s elite special forces. In other words, if they didn’t want anyone to detect them, that’s how it would have played out.
Velasquez brought home the point by asserting that their behavior made it clear they did not fly to Haiti to kill its president.
Furthermore, Pentagon representatives stated that American soldiers had trained “a small number” of the Colombians while on active duty. The authorities established this by running their names through databases. As it turned out, they constitute a tiny portion of the thousands of soldiers from the Caribbean and Latin America who have attended similar training.
The Aftershocks
Amid all the confusion, it’s unclear how the situation will pan out. What we know for sure is that Miami is increasingly becoming a focus of the probe. And not only due to the current situation with CTU Security, which allegedly operates in the area.
Some of the other intrigues surrounding Miami include:
- Working as the key shipment point for Colombian cocaine in the 1980s, and
- Serving as a CIA recruitment center for the failed operation titled Bay of Pigs.
Speaking of intelligence agencies, FBI representatives stated that they are “providing investigative assistance” to Haitian authorities. However, the owner of CTU Security, the company implicated in the whole ordeal, didn’t respond to dozens of requests for an interview.
As he likes posting photos on social media of him and influential people, it isn’t easy to evaluate his actual position in the matter. In fact, he even posted a photo of himself and the Colombian president Ivan Duque.
However, Duque’s office denied any knowledge of Intriago. Instead, they stated that Duque was in Miami while campaigning for the presidency in February 2018.
To make Intriago’s position even more painful, CTU Security lists two Miami addresses on its website. One is a shuttered warehouse with no signage, while the other is a small office suite not under its name.
President of International Security Consulting in Miami, Richard Noriega, says that the prospect of fast money probably lured Intriago into this disaster. For that reason, he didn’t perform due diligence.
“The first thing we (security professionals) have to take into account is the evacuation. Where will they exit? That’s the first thing I do,” Noriega concluded with his opinion of the entire situation surrounding the Haiti assassination.
What do you think? How will this play out in the end?
