HAITI CREATES COMMISSION FOR DEPORTEES, SEEKS

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 002620

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
DRL
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
DEA HQ WASHDC

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC KJUS KCRM HA PRM
SUBJECT: HAITI CREATES COMMISSION FOR DEPORTEES, SEEKS
"HALFWAY HOUSE"


1. Minister of Justice Henri Dorleans told the Charge October
18 that the IGOH had appointed a Commission to oversee
criminals deported from the United States and was examining
the possibility of creating a halfway house (Centre de
Transition) for deportees in Haiti. Dorleans explained that
the MOJ had already drafted a decree (septel) for the
Commission's recommendations that would be passed shortly by
the IGOH. Among the recommendations in the decree is the
establishment of a halfway house for those deportees that
needed assistance in transitioning to a normal life in a
country many of them barely knew. The MOJ had already
identified the names of some deportees currently in prison
who would be immediately eligible to move to the center, and
also identified a location for the facility. (Note: the house
identified belonged to Serge Edouard, now serving a sentence
in Miami prison for drug trafficking. The house is reportedly
part of the assets seized by the Justice Department as part
of the judgment against Edouard. End note).


2. Secretary of State for Public Security David Basile first
described the idea of the halfway house and the specific
location of the center to the DCM on September 23. Basile
said the halfway house would serve as a transition center for
non-violent deportees and could also provide a forum for
specialized training of Haitian prison system authorities and
guards. Basile added that some Haitians might be deported
from the U.S. after sentencing to serve their prison term in
Haiti in a specialized facility under U.S. supervision. Both
Basile and Dorleans said that in order to take possession of
the house and establish the transition center, the IGOH
needed to conclude an agreement with the U.S. to allow Haiti
to apply the judgment rendered against Serge Edouard in
Haiti. (Note: Dorleans is drafting a proposal that would
establish a process under which Haiti might execute judgments
against all Haitian criminals convicted in the United States.
See septel. End note).


3. Dorleans added that the Commission has also requested
greater cooperation from U.S. immigration authorities in
order to better handle the periodic influx of criminal
deportees. Specifically, Dorleans asked the Charge to provide
a list of Haitian prisoners currently incarcerated in the
U.S. and schedules for their deportation so that Haitian
authorities might prepare in advance for their arrival.


4. Comment: Haiti is not the only country in the Western
Hemisphere that faces the chore of integrating criminal
deportees from the U.S., but its judicial and penitentiary
system is perhaps uniquely inadequate for the task. Post
supports IGOH efforts to establish a center for managing the
influx of deportees and is examining ways in which we can
support it, including the specific disposition of the Eduoard
house. We also support greater information-sharing between
U.S. and Haitian authorities and request that DHS keep post
informed of longer-term schedules for deportations that can
be shared with the IGOH. End comment.

CARNEY