Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06PORTAUPRINCE2169
2006-11-13 12:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Port Au Prince
Cable title:  

A/S PATTERSON PUSHES FOR COOPERATION WITH GOH

Tags:  PGOV PREL MARR KJUS ASEC KCRM HA SNAR 
pdf how-to read a cable
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4566
INFO RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 1275
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RUCOWCV/CCGDSEVEN MIAMI FL//OLE/OI//
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 002169 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
DRL
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2011
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNARR MARR KJUS ASEC KCRM HA
SUBJECT: A/S PATTERSON PUSHES FOR COOPERATION WITH GOH

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons
1.4(b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 002169

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR
DRL
S/CRS
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA)
TREASURY FOR JEFFREY LEVINE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/30/2011
TAGS: PGOV PREL SNARR MARR KJUS ASEC KCRM HA
SUBJECT: A/S PATTERSON PUSHES FOR COOPERATION WITH GOH

Classified By: Classified by Ambassador Janet A. Sanderson for reasons
1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary. INL A/S Anne W. Patterson urged increased
cooperation on law enforcement and intelligence gathering to
combat narcotics trafficking through Haiti during her
meetings on November 3 with President Preval and senior GoH
and MINUSTAH officials. Repeatedly referring to the 1997
illicit maritime drug traffic agreement between the U.S. and
Haiti, Preval indicated that he expected the U.S. to prevent
drugs entering Haiti and evinced impatience with and
less-than-thorough understanding of the need for bilateral
cooperation to conduct interdictions. A/S Patterson
re-iterated that successful international counter-narcotics
efforts were the result of painstaking and long-term
collaboration. She also urged the GoH to consider ways to
remove Haitian narcotics trafficking suspects to the U.S. in
the absence of a legal instrument to extradite Haitian
nationals from Haiti. The Minister of Justice replied that
the matter was "under consideration." The director general
of the Haitian National Police (HNP),Mario Andresol,
reported that he had initiated a process to "certify" the
identity of each HNP officer in the field; UN-led vetting and
certification of HNP officers would begin with the completion
of that process, starting with himself. He explained that
HNP special units accompany MINUSTAH forces on patrol in Cite
Soleil, but estimated that he needed 250 officers stationed
in Cite Soleil to maintain a permanent presence. MINUSTAH
officials thanked A/S Patterson for assistance to UNPol and
the HNP and asked her to provide more Creole speaking
American UNPol officers. The generally good news A/S
Patterson received on the security front, from preparations
for upcoming elections to the improving situation in Cite

Soleil, reflects progress made by the HNP under Andresol and
the indispensable impact of our INL programs. The disjointed
exchange with Preval, however, illustrates the need for
determined diplomacy at the highest levels of the GoH to
provide a realistic picture of how meaningful
counter-narcotics cooperation must proceed. End Summary.

President Preval
--------------


2. (C) A/S Patterson, accompanied by the Ambassador,
Polcouns, and post's Senior Police Advisor, met on November
3 with President Preval, Prime Minister Alexis, and Minister
of Justice Magloire at the presidential palace. A/S
Patterson highlighted the importance of the USG assistance to
the police and praised the leadership of DG Andresol. She
stressed the importance of proceeding with vetting of HNP
officers, and argued for closer cooperation among the GoH,
the HNP, and DEA and U.S. law enforcement to develop
intelligence against powerful trafficking organizations
within Haiti. To that end, she urged the GoH to consider
ways to transfer Haitian nationals indicted in the U.S. to
face U.S. justice, not only to remove the threat they posed
to Haiti, but to develop further intelligence to use against
other traffickers. A/S Patterson stressed that the U.S.
could not by itself shut down the transshipment of narcotics
through Haiti and that progress could only be achieved
through painstaking law-enforcement collaboration.


3. (C) President Preval cited "frustration" regarding the
continued problem of narcotics transiting Haiti. Citing the
1997 cooperation agreement, which he signed during his first
administration and allows U.S. forces to pursue, search, and
seize, vessels suspected of transporting narcotics in Haitian
territorial waters, Preval asked why the U.S. had not made
more progress in interdicting narcotics arriving in Haiti.
(Comment: This has become a theme in Preval's discourse
regarding the U.S. In another setting he recently noted that
the U.S. was "good at catching the boats with people, but
didn't seem to care about the boats with drugs." End
Comment.) Interrupting the justice minister's discussion of
the extradition/removal issue at one point, Preval
rhetorically asked his minister what good changing Haitian
law would be if the U.S. could not increase interdictions.
He expressed skepticism that the HNP could effectively
challenge narcotics trafficking within Haiti, downplaying the

PORT AU PR 00002169 002 OF 003


role of the anti-kidnapping unit, and referring to
allegations against the HNP's second ranking officer. (Note:
Post will report the details of charges against
investigative police director Michael Lucius and his ongoing
dispute with judicial authorities septel. End Note.)


4. (C) Minister of Justice Magloire expressed his
appreciation for U.S. law-enforcement assistance,
particularly support for the Haitian coast guard. Magloire
outlined plans to establish an inter-ministerial task force
to better combat illicit trafficking and control the ports
and border with the Dominican Republic and his intention to
re-establish a special intelligence unit to police the
international airport in Port-au-Prince. He indicated his
ministry was "considering" the issue of removing Haitian
nationals to the United States for prosecutions, noting the
Haitian constitution prohibited the extradition of Haitian
nationals. In the meantime, he hoped to establish
specialized courts and judges to deal with the most serious
trafficking offenses. Magloire raised the issue of
deportations, claiming that criminal deportees from the
United States seriously contributed to criminality in Haiti.

Police Chief Andresol
--------------


5. (C) HNP Director General Andresol reported that the HNP
was completing a registration of HNP officers throughout
Haiti in advance of the vetting process, which would begin
shortly, starting with himself and other senior officers. He
pronounced himself satisfied with the HNP reform plan drafted
in conjunction with MINUSTAH, and pointed to better relations
with MINUSTAH since the arrival of Deputy UNPol Commissioner
for Reform Richard Warren. Implementation of the reform
plan, he stated, was a chance to create a "professional
police force," which Haiti had never had and an opportunity
remove many unprofessional officers from its ranks.


6. (C) Andresol accepted A/S Patterson's congratulations on
the improvement of HNP performance and his own leadership.
Andresol responded that progress was slow and cited a myriad
of difficulties in improving HNP performance. Officers were
under equipped and stations were understaffed. The HNP's
special units, crowd control (CIMO) and SWAT, were coming
under increasing pressure to perform a variety of tasks as
they were his most reliable and best-equipped units. CIMO and
SWAT patrolled with MINUSTAH in Cite Soleil as they were the
only units with armored vehicles. In order to maintain a
permanent presence in Cite Soleil, he would require roughly
250 fully equipped regular officers, which he did not have.
In the meantime, he had to divert CIMO and SWAT units from
their regular responsibilities.

MINUSTAH
--------------


7. (SBU) Acting SRSG David Wilmhurst, accompanied by
MINUSTAH political chief Gerardo Lechevalier, provided A/S
Patterson a list of concerns on the security front that they
asked the USG take into account in formulating its
assistance. Wilmhurst highlighted the contribution of
Creole-speaking UNPol officers within the U.S. contingent and
asked that the U.S. increase their number. He pointed to
Haitian lack of capacity to control its ports and borders,
citing the arrival the previous day of a cargo ship from
Boston in the port of St. Marc that had unloaded its cargo
without any government inspection. He also asked for more
information sharing between MINUSTAH, the GoH, and the U.S.
to better monitor this kind of traffic. Wilmhurst underlined
the enormous impact kidnapping had on the security climate,
leading A/S Patterson to agree that kidnapping had a
particularly adverse impact on foreign investment and tourism.


8. (SBU) In a separate meeting, senior members of the U.S.
UNPol contingent told A/S Patterson that they had witnessed
progress related on a number of fronts. Security cooperation
with the HNP for the first two rounds of elections worked
well and they expected and the security plan for the third
round on December 3 was well along. A trainer reported that

PORT AU PR 00002169 003 OF 003


INL-funded in-service training in Cap Haitien and Les Cayes
concluded successfully. HNP officers were motivated and
eager to improve their capacity. An officer advising CIMO
reported that the specialized units comprised dedicated
officers and that on the whole the HNP had mostly capable
officers.

Comment
--------------


9. (C) A/S Patterson's visit underscored both the progress
and remaining challenges in rebuilding the HNP. On the verge
of disintegration in the aftermath of Aristide's departure in
February 2004, the HNP is now present on the streets of
Port-au-Prince and directly contributing to the improved
security atmosphere as a direct result of our training and
assistance. Though MINUSTAH efforts to mentor and implement
reform have been more halting, MINUSTAH has also achieved
significant successes, particularly in training the HNP's
specialized units. The challenge to closer cooperation
remains with senior government officials, beginning with the
president. Preval witnessed first-hand the destruction of
the HNP as an institution under Lavalas leadership and is
still skeptical that they will ever have the capacity or be
sufficiently rid of corruption to tackle powerful criminal
interests in Haiti. We need to continue to impress on Preval
that his government must allocate sufficient resources to the
HNP to make it self-sustaining, and to support and encourage
the honest officers within its ranks. Most importantly, we
need to make clear to Preval and his security team that
neither the U.S. nor any other international partner can help
address narcotics, arms and other trans-national crime in
Haiti without functioning Haitian law-enforcement
institutions and pro-active collaboration of GoH officials.
Cooperation on the removal of Haitian nationals to the U.S.
to face criminal charges is one of the most important
benchmarks of that collaboration, and post will follow-on A/S
Patterson's visit to attempt to secure GoH cooperation.


SANDERSON