C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 001667

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
EB/IFD
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
COMMERCE FOR SCOTT SMITH
TREASURY FOR JEFFERY LEVINE
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016
TAGS: ECON EAID PGOV PINS HA
SUBJECT: CUSTOMS DG REPLACED

REF: PAP 1609

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Thomas C. Tighe for reasons 1.4 (b) an
d (d).


1. (C) President Rene Preval on September 7 replaced
Director General of Customs Edouard Vales Jean-Laurent with
Jean Jacques Valentin, who was the customs' DG from 1994
until 2004 under former President Jean Bertrand Aristide and
during Preval's first term. Preval's economic advisor
Gabriel Verret told econoff September 7 that some people
around Preval promoted Valentin because he had granted favors
to "well-connected people" during his first tenure. For
example, he said Valentin allowed Youri Latortue, now the
senior senator from Gonaives, to hire his "cronies" to run
customs' operations in Gonaives. Informed Haitians see
Valentin as Aristide's right-hand man and know him as someone
who collected money through smuggling to finance the Aristide
Foundation. Jean-Laurent, on the other hand, almost doubled
customs' revenues since the beginning of the Preval
administration and stood his ground against corruption. Even
Valentin's sister-in-law, a personal acquaintance of the
embassy's political specialist, expressed disbelief and
disgust at Valentin's promotion.


2. (C) Verret emphasized that the replacement of
Jean-Laurent was not a unanimous recommendation, citing
himself and Preval's confidante Bob Manuel as advocators for
retaining Jean-Laurent. He also mentioned that both he and
Manuel have been on vacation for the last couple of weeks,
and that perhaps they could have changed the President's
final decision had they been in country. Earlier this week,
the chamber of deputies' finance commission, headed by Jonas
Coffy, sent a letter to the GOH and said it had five days
fire Jean-Laurent and re-assign the customs director at
Malpasse on the Dominican border, Jeantal Clervil. Finance
minister Daniel Dorsainvil indicated that the government
would not respond to this request, and that the situation in
Malpasse would not change. Verret said that the letter from
the parliamentarians, although it bolstered the argument of
"certain people" in favor of Valentin, had little to do with
the replacement. (Note: Per reftel, strikers on the
Haitian-DR border have been calling for the GOH to dismiss
Clervil, who was appointed by Jean-Laurent. End note.)


3. (C) Polcouns spoke to Verret and Jean-Laurent at Brazil's
national day reception September 7. Both were in a somber
mood, and Verret confirmed that he had "made his views known"
to Preval but his advice was not accepted. Jean-Laurent was
visibly dismayed, saying he had worked 12 hour days for his
country and the results showed. He confirmed that Clervil
remained at his post "for now," but expressed concern about
his future. He said he had earlier worked for Valentin and
was guarded in his assessment, but agreed he had buckled
under pressure from Aristide. A line of Haitians approached
Jean-Laurent to express their astonishment and/or outrage
over his firing.


4. (C) Comment: After the excitement over the strike on the
Malpasse border, and the GOH's firm response to maintain
their stance and raise government revenues, the replacement
of Jean-Laurent with Valentin is a shock. Not only does this
put into question Preval's will to fight smuggling and
corruption, but it also questions Preval's strength in the
face of those who want Haiti to return to "business as usual."
TIGHE