Head of firm linked to Haiti assassination probe was a familiar face in Doral — until now
Jacqueline Charles
July 12, 2021 08:15 PM,
Updated July 13, 2021 07:00 AM
Duration 1:47
Suspects arrested in connection with Haitian president’s killing
Haïti National Police said with the population’s help they captured 17 suspects in the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse. They are currently looking for 8. On Thursday authorities presented 15 of the 17 suspects they arrested. By Jacqueline Charles
In the restaurants and watering holes around Doral, Venezuelan exiles gather to swig drinks and pine for their homeland. Among them, Antonio Intriago was a familiar face.
Some knew the tall, fit Venezuelan emigre for the self-defense and shooting classes he offered through his security company. Some knew him for his girlfriend Mariana, a local vocal instructor whose sister enjoys musical fame as the first “Latin American Idol” winner.
Scratch a little deeper and Intriago appears in photos circulating online with current Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez, and another with Republican former U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.×
“I don’t recall the person in this photo in the least,” Ros-Lehtinen, who represented Miami in Congress, said when asked about the image, adding it is likely he was one of the many people with whom she posed for a photo with over many years in politics.
But in an information vacuum, it all adds to the intrigue swirling around the man whose company CTU Security — formally incorporated as Counter Terrorist Unit Federal Academy LLC — is being mentioned by Haitian authorities in the investigation into President Jovenel Moïse’s July 7 assassination.
The Miami Herald reported over the weekend that Haitian authorities investigating the killing say a number of captured Colombian ex-soldiers said they were hired by CTU Security to work in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s sprawling and largely lawless capital. Several of the captured Colombians said they were there to provide security for rich and powerful individuals. It is unclear who hired CTU and why.
Intriago’s name was mentioned by some of the 18 Colombians and two Haitian Americans in custody. Interim Haiti Police Chief Leon Charles said that the company was contracted by Christian Emmanuel Sanon, a Haitian doctor, taken into custody as one of the alleged masterminds of the president’s assassination.
Intriago has not returned emails, texts or phone calls since he was first linked to the investigation last week. It is unclear if he is even in the United States.
A message on Intriago’s cellphone says the mailbox is full and messages cannot be left. A personal cellphone provided by a friend also goes to his mailbox.
Similarly, the woman who appears in his social media postings as his longtime girlfriend — Mariana Martínez Blanco — did not return calls and emails. She is the sister of Mayré Martínez, a singer-songwriter who won the first “Latin American Idol” competition.
Mariana Martínez is named as a co-defendant in an eviction case brought against Intriago and CTU Security.
Florida corporate records list a business associate for his company named Arcángel Pretel Ortiz. When reporters tried to reach Ortiz, someone who gave his name as Ángell declined to discuss Intriago.
“Oh, this matter is under investigation, and you know for now we have to leave it at that I can’t make any comment,” the man said in Spanish, surprised when asked about Intriago.
Asked if he was Pretel Ortiz, the man repeated he cannot make any comment and hung up.
A jack of all trades, the mysterious Venezuelan who goes by the name Tony sold protective gear to the Sweetwater Police Department. Intriago also supplied private security contractors in Latin America, and his Instagram page shows his company trained would-be Latin security forces.
But for all his footprint on social media, those who say they knew Intriago are reluctant to attach their name. Some claim he was viewed with suspicion in the exile community, where much like the Cuban expat diaspora there are concerns of regime infiltrators in the midst.
Intriago maintained close ties with Venezuelan exile community as it began to get organized around 2010 to oppose, from South Florida, the late strongman Hugo Chávez and his successor, current ruler Nicolás Maduro.
When Venezuelans living in the southern United States got ready to flock to New Orleans in 2012 to cast ballots in a general election against Chávez, Intriago was among the main organizers of the efforts to help thousands of Venezuelans in South Florida travel to Louisiana, where the absentee balloting occurred, said a former Venezuelan opposition representative in Miami, José Hernandez.
Intriago participated actively in the early meetings often held by the Venezuelan community in restaurants in Doral, added José Antonio Colina, a former Venezuelan National Guard lieutenant who heads his own exile group.
“He was very interested in getting the community to organize itself politically. He was always volunteering to participate in commissions in charge of security and communications,” Colina said.
Alexis Ortiz, who also headed one of the main opposition groups in South Florida during the past decade, said that Intriago was liked by movement leaders because he was someone who could get things done and even provide resources.
“If we needed an office to hold an event, he would get it for us. If you needed a car, he was the one to call,” Alexis Ortiz said.
Venezuelan expats said that Intriago, whose Instagram page said he supported President Donald J. Trump and Republican values, would at times step out of the public eye and not be seen for months, even years. One of those times came during the illness of his first wife, they said.
Debt collectors
Miami-Dade County court records show Intriago was chased in 2011 and twice in 2017 by landlords who sought to evict him in court proceedings for failing to pay rent or for breach of contract. He was sued by a military equipment manufacturer called Propper International in 2018 for non-payment, and in 2017 by a small lender for failing to repay a loan.
He also at one point turned to the business debt company Emerge 180 to help him get his finances in order, according to documents seen by the Miami Herald.
One business associate of Intriago’s, who demanded anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, provided proof of Intriago’s communication with him about a large debt.
Over a period of months, Intriago promised to make good on his debt, saying a deposit would be made in hours, or days, but never delivered, the communications indicate.
“I’m waiting on a payment in the coming weeks,” Intriago said, later pleading, “have a little more patience and you’ll be repaid real soon.”
It never happened, said the businessman.
Michael Wilner of the McClatchy Washington Bureau contributed to this report.
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