CHAPTER21

CHAPTER 21

 

HAITI

THE DUVALIERS. In 1957, Francois Duvalier -- Papa Doc -- assumed power in Haiti. For over two decades, with the help of the secret police known as the "Tonton Macoutes," he ran a repressive government which was responsible for imprisoning, torturing, and killing thousands of dissidents. When he died in 1971, his son, Baby Doc, continued in his footsteps in Latin America's poorest country where 90 percent of the nation's population of 7.5 million live below the poverty level.

Many members of both the Republican and Democratic parties were ardent supporters of the Duvaliers. Particularly Republican Senator Jesse Helms and several Democrats had close ties with the Duvaliers and as well as with drug dealers in Haiti. Former DNC chair and Commerce Secretary Ron Brown headed a law firm that represented the Duvalier family for decades. Part of that representation was a public relations campaign that stressed Duvalier's opposition to communism in the cold war. United States support for Duvalier was worth more than $400 million in aid to the country.

 

By 1985, the cartels began to seek additional transit points for cocaine coming to the United States. Haiti was a particularly appealing option for drug traffickers because of its location, its weak and corrupt government, and its unstable political situation. Haiti is located on the most direct route from Colombia to the United States. Haiti has harbors and inlets which afford excellent protection to drug smuggling vessels. Moreover, the Haitian Air Force has no radar facilities and does not routinely patrol Haitian airspace. Drug planes can take off and land freely at any of the island's numerous secondary airstrips.

 

Since the day of "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haiti's government has been notorious for its corruption. The Duvalier family and their associates profited enormously from the protection of many illegal enterprises, including narcotics trafficking. However, until 1987 most of the drug smuggling through Haiti was conducted by individual organizations which made their own arrangements with the Haitian government officials.

 

Since the departure of "Baby Doc" Duvalier and the presidential elections of 1987, the Colombians took advantage of the complete breakdown of government institutions and began to move into the country in force. They focused their efforts on corrupting key military officers who were in a position to assure that there would be no interference with their operations. According to DEA intelligence the number of Colombian narcotic traffickers residing in Haiti was growing daily and the narcotic organizations began to use Haiti as a base of operations. In addition, these organizations were buying up legitimate businesses to serve as front companies for their smuggling operations. Once having gained access to local commerce, they focused on corrupting public officials to protect their interests.

 

Osvaldo Quintana, a Cuban-American who became involved in drug smuggling from Haiti to Miami, Quintana later testified about his experience before a federal grand jury in Miami. He explained that the Colombians established a working relationship with Colonel Jean-Claude Paul by and with a Haitian named Cardozo. The Colombians agreed to pay Paul, the commander of the Desallines Barracks, for protection and use of the runway on his ranch for cocaine flights. Paul played a pivotal role in Haitian politics because his unit was responsible for the protection of the Presidential Palace. Paul was very influential during the 1987 election when much of the violence was attributed to soldiers and security officials known as Tontons Macoute which acted under his direction.

 

According to Quintana, the payoffs to Paul were to be made by Cardozo on a shipment-by-shipment basis. In October 1986 Paul became dissatisfied with the amount of money he was receiving and seized a shipment of drugs in protest. The Colombians investigated the seizure and found that their middle man, Cardozo, had been pocketing most of the money which they thought was going to Paul. The Colombians sent a team of hit-men to Haiti and brought Cardozo back to Colombia where he was tortured for this "theft." The money was repaid and Paul's demands were satisfied.

 

Quintana also testified in court about the efforts which Paul, his wife Marie Mireille Delinois, and his brother made to establish their own cocaine distribution system in Miami. Roger Biamby, a Haitian community leader in Miami, told the subcommittee that Paul and other military officers owned ships which sailed between Miami and Haiti carrying cocaine. Quintana's testimony coupled with that of other witnesses led to the indictment for cocaine trafficking of Paul and his wife by a federal grand jury in Miami. However, once indicted, they could not be prosecuted due to the lack of an extradition treaty between the United States and Haiti. Furthermore, the Haitian constitution in effect at the time prohibited the extradition of Haitian nationals.

 

THE KERRY COMMITTEE. In 1988, the Kerry committee hearings convened. Centered around Iran-Contra and allegations of drug trafficking during the Contra war, stories of Haiti's involvement in illicit trade first surfaced. Evidence, which was produced at the hearings, eventually led to the indictment in Miami in 1988 of Colonel Jean Paul. In November 1989, he was found dead after poison had been added to a bowel of pumpkin soup. Haitian officials accused Paul's wife of the murder, apparently because she had been cheated out of her share of a cocaine deal by associates of her husband involved in smuggling.

 

Fernando Burgos Martinez, a Colombian national with major business interests in Haiti, was heavily involved in cocaine trafficking. According to the Kerry report, Martinez was the "bag man" for Colombia's cocaine cartels, and he helped provide bribes paid to the Haitian military. According to Miami attorney John Mattes who was defending a Cuban-American drug trafficker cooperating with American prosecutors, Martinez was paid $30,000 to bribe Haitian authorities into releasing two drug pilots who were jailed in Haiti. Today he operates a casino which reportedly is a money laundering operation for cocaine trade.

 

A former agent in charge of the Miami DEA, Thomas Cash, told the Kerry committee that numerous small airstrips were used by drug smugglers, who were overlooked by Haitian air patrols. He further testified that corrupt public officials made Haiti a "very fertile ground for drug traffickers." More testimony was heard from drug trafficker George Morales testified that in the 1980's Haiti was a "parking lot" for drugs which were en route northward to the United States.

 

The Kerry committee heard testimony that former interior minister, General Williams Regala, supervised cocaine shipments. The testimony also charged the then Haitian military commander General Henry Namphy with accepting bribes from Colombian traffickers in return for the use of airstrips in the mid-1980's.

 

Furnando Burgos Martinez, a Colombian national with business interests in Haiti, allegedly was a major cocaine trafficker. The DEA claimed that he was involved in every major drug shipment to Haiti since 1987. According to the Kerry report Martinez was a "bag man" for Colombia's cocaine cartels and supervised bribes paid to the Haitian military. According to Miami attorney John Mattes, Martinez was paid $30,000 to bribe Haitian authorities into releasing two drug pilots jailed in Haiti. Martinez claims innocence and presently operates a Port-de-Prince plush casino which generates $50 million a week in the capital city.

 

The Kerry committee also heard testimony that former Interior Minister General Williams Regala and his DEA liaison officer protected and supervised cocaine shipments. The testimony also charged then-Haitian military commander General Henry Namphy with accepting bribes from Colombian traffickers in return for using Haiti as a transit point for delivering drugs into the United States.

 

In 1989, yet another military coup brought Colonel Prosper Avril to power. Under American pressure Avril fired 140 officers suspected of drug trafficking. Avril has been sued by six Haitians, including Port-au-Prince mayor Evans Paul, who claimed that they were imprisoned and tortured by the Haitian military under Avril's orders in November 1989. According to testimony before the Kerry subcommittee, Avril was a major player in Haiti's moving cartel cocaine into the United States.

 

Many of Haiti's leaders were kept on the CIA payroll. There is evidence that many of them have been involved in human rights violations which include tortures and murders when over 3,000 Haitians were killed and more than 2,000 others were injured. Additionally, some have had their American assets frozen and have been prevented from entering the United States.

 

In April 1994, a convicted Colombian drug trafficker, Gabriel Taboada, who was sentenced to 12 years in a Miami federal prison, told the Kerry committee that Francois collaborated in shipping tons of cocaine to the United States during then 1980s. Taboada said he met Francois while he was in the Medellin, Colombia office of drug king Pablo Escobar, when he was arranging a cocaine transaction in 1984. Taboada told the committee that the cartel Colombian planes would land in Haiti and were protected by the military. He maintained that Francois protected the drugs in Haiti and then allowed the drugs to continue to the United States. Taboada also told the committee that Haitian military figures often met Medellin cartel members in Colombia.

Since then the role of Haiti in the drug trade has grown, and the profits to the Haitian officials involved have skyrocketed. A confidential DEA report provided to Michigan Representative John Conyers told of the case of Tony Greco, a former DEA agent in Haiti, who fled for his life in September 1992, following the arrest of a Haitian military officer charged with drug running. Elie said that he received no assistance from the Haitian military in attempts to interdict drug shipments. When Greco received information in May 1991 that 400 kilos of cocaine were arriving in Haiti, the DEA man watched helplessly as the drugs were delivered to waiting boats. Greco told Elie that the military was absent at a moment they knew drugs were being imported.

 

Greco said he finally gave up and fled the country after he received a telephone death threat against his family. He stated that only Cedras and Francois had his private number. Despite Greco's experiences, the DEA defended their continuing presence in Haiti. Today there are still two DEA agents stationed in the country, and the DEA has continued its contacts with the military following Aristide's ouster. The DEA admits that in 1993 over 26,400 pounds of cocaine entered the United States from Haiti with the cooperation of the military.

 

The State Department's International Narcotics Control Strategy report stated that the drug-related activity in Haiti is low. According to the report, there is no evidence that links Haiti officials to drug trafficking. Representative Major Owens, who heads the Haiti committee of the Congressional Black Caucus, maintained that the State Department's failed to recognize evidence of corruption by Haiti's military commanders and that Secretary of State Warren Christopher was guilty of a double standard.

 

The DEA had great difficulty in developing cases against the principal Haitian traffickers in Miami. In order to penetrate the close-knit Haitian society, the authorities had to rely on wiretaps, informants and undercover operations. However, law enforcement agencies employed a limited number of French-Creole speaking officers, and undercover operations were limited as a result. DEA regional chief Tom Cash testified that his operations in Haiti were also affected by this problem. According to testimony, the drugs rarely came through the airport, but instead were moved by private ships and planes through other shipment points. Even if the surveillance provided useful information, United States attorney Gregorie argued that Haiti lacked an honest police force to make arrests and punish offenders. Moreover, when Haitian authorities seized drugs from traffickers, the smugglers were not only set free, but the narcotics were frequently resold by the authorities.

 

ARISTIDE ATTEMPTS TO RETURN. In 1990, Aristide was the popular candidate for president, primarily as a result of his promises to institute social reforms. However, he was labeled a leftist and consequently not acceptable to the Bush administration. The CIA initiated a propaganda campaign against Aristide, making him out to be a manic depressive and unfit for the presidency. Nevertheless, in 1990, he was elected to office with 70 percent of the vote. From the outset he sought to double the minimum wage from two dollars to four dollars per day. He attempted to establish a social security system and promised land for the peasants. However, seven months after his inauguration he was driven from office, as the military seized control. Aristide was forced to flee to Canada. When the military junta refused to abdicate, the United Nations imposed economic sanctions.

 

Eventually, coup leader General Raoul Cedras agreed to allow Aristide to return in exchange for an end to the embargo. In 1993, Aristide was elected with a 70 percent approval in Haiti's first democratic election. Speaking before the United Nations' General Assembly, Aristide maintained that Haiti's military exercised de facto control over much of the country and that many of the leaders were heavily involved in drug trafficking. Aristide said that Haiti was the transit point for Colombia's Cali cartel to ship 50 tons of cocaine, worth billions of dollars, each year into the United States. This money has netted Haiti's military rulers $200 million in profits.

 

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairperson Jesse Helms immediately launched a disinformation campaign to keep Aristide out of Haiti. He enlisted CIA agent Brian Latell who testified to members of Congress that Aristide was a schizophrenic and incapable of governing his country. Latell maintained that Aristide was committed to a mental institution part of the time that he lived in exile in Canada. However, documents proved that Latell and Helms had lied. In fact, during this time frame Aristide was visiting Israel at the time.

 

Helms was not the only supporter of the repressive Duvalier family. Democrat Ron Brown had headed a law firm that represented the Duvaliers for decades. In addition, United States support for the Duvaliers added up to over $400 million while the family ran a brutal right wing dictatorship prior to 1986.

 

The Organization of American States (OAS) imposed an ineffective embargo on Haiti while its coup leaders remained in power. In 1993 just prior to Aristide's ascent to power, a confidential congressional report leaked to the media. It stated that "corruption levels within the (Haitian military-run) narcotics service are substantial enough to hamper any significant investigation attempting to dismantle a Colombian organization in Haiti." The report said that more than 1,000 Colombians were living in Haiti and were using forged passports from neighboring Dominican Republic. However, President Joaquin Belaguer of the Dominican Republic opposed a United Nations blockade of Haiti. Despite the embargo and the American naval blockade of Haiti, cocaine shipments could not be terminated.

 

In December 1995, Haiti's second free elections took place, but this time voter turnout dropped to 50 percent. The small percent of Haitians, the small business owners who have avoided the poverty level, turned out to cast their ballots. However, most did not vote because of their disappointment that Haiti's economic standards have not improved. The winner was Rene Preval, candidate for the three party Lavalas Platform coalition. He promised to run a "law-and-order" government and suggested that he would privatize much of the country's industries.

 

By the late 1990s, human rights violations continued to flourish under Aristide's government. Torture, executions, and political arrests still continue. Since 1994, little progress has been made in bringing to justice those responsible for human rights violations, past or present. In early 1998, at least three police officers were lynched. Since Aristide's return to power, victims and relatives of victims were encouraged to lodge complaints. However, very few protests reached the courts. Only three prominent human rights cases were brought to trial.

 

At the beginning of 1998, Haitian public security chief Robert Manuel warned of "macabre plots" by international drug cartels to infiltrate the country's government and police force. A large shipment of Colombian cocaine destined for the United States was abandoned in the village of Aquin, and peasants scrambled to grab the drugs. The police arrived, beat several villagers, and seized the cocaine for their own use. Twenty police officers were later arrested. The enormous amount of cocaine which are regularly seized by Haitian police, who are paid a mere $313 a month, continues to disappear. Cocaine trafficking continues to flourish. Shipments arrive by sea or air along a 955-mile coastline, and most of it is moved to the neighboring Dominican Republic which is the main staging area for transferring it to the United States.