"REPORTS OF MY DEATH ARE GREATLY

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001265 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR HA SUBJECT: "REPORTS OF MY DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED"...PREVAL LAUGHS OFF RUMORS OF FATAL HEART ATTACK ¶1. (U) This message is sensitive but unclassified; please protect accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) Haiti's infamous gossip network went into overdrive Tuesday and Wednesday as reports circulated widely that President Preval had died of a heart attack July 11 while working at the Presidential Palace. Preval, who was alive and kicking at the Haitian Diaspora Forum Event July 12, laughed off reports, telling Ambassador that if he died, she would be the first to know. He joked, "voodoo brought me back! I am not dead yet." Preval staffers, including advisor Bob Manuel, report that they got tens of panicked phone calls from all over the country and abroad over the past two days asking about the president's health; we understand many of the more outlandish rumors, such as the report that the government had fled the country, popped up on the internet. As Preval worked the room at the Forum last night, he looked fit and energetic, although Manuel acknowledged he was tired from his European travels. ¶2. (SBU) Levity aside, the fact that a rumor of this type could get such traction in Port au Prince is worrisome and points to continuing concern about Preval's health. Despite his inner circle's insistence that the President is well, Haiti's precarious security situation and the government's hands off communications policy make more rumors of this type inevitable. SANDERSON