US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1221

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001221 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEPT FOR DS/IP/WHA 
DS/DSS/ITA 
DSERCC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, PINR, SNAR, HA 
SUBJECT: FORMER ARISTIDE OFFICIALS UNDER DRUG INDICTMENT IN 
THE U.S. 
 
REF: 2004 PAP 538 
 
1. (U) Summary: Since mid-2003, seven high-profile members of 
the Aristide government or associates of the former President 
have been arrested on drug charges in the United States. 
Other officials are still under investigation for possible 
prosecution in the U.S. or Haiti. Press reports indicate that 
some of the individuals already arrested are cooperating with 
U.S. prosecutors who are investigating the Aristide 
government's involvement in drug trafficking, and it is 
possible that further arrests will be made in the near 
future. At the same time, the Interim Government of Haiti 
(IGOH) is investigating drug trafficking, money laundering, 
corruption and other charges against individuals connected to 
the Aristide government. End summary. 
 
Long list of drug traffickers connected to Aristide 
------------------- 
 
2. (U) As reftel reported more than a year ago, the Aristide 
regime was riddled with high-ranking officials and Aristide 
loyalists involved in drug trafficking. Although Aristide 
spoke publicly against the drug trade, he tolerated an 
extraordinary degree of drug-related criminality in his inner 
circle, the government and national police.  The best that 
could be said of Aristide is that he could not have been 
ignorant of their activities. Nearly 14 months after his 
departure, seven top Lavalas insiders and police officials 
sit in Miami jails, awaiting trial or sentencing for major 
drug trafficking crimes during the Aristide years. As a 
follow-up to reftel, we present the following rogues gallery: 
 
-- Evintz BRILLANT: Brillant was the "anti-drug czar" for the 
Aristide government, appointed in December 2001 by former HNP 
Director General Lesly Lucien (see below) as head of the 
BLTS, the anti-drug unit of the HNP.  He was allegedly 
actively involved in protecting drug shipments. Brillant was 
arrested in May 2004 on U.S. drug charges emanating from the 
Southern District of Florida, and is scheduled for trial in 
April 2005. 
 
-- Flourel CELESTIN: Celestin was a Fanmi Lavalas politician 
and Senate President until the Parliament ceased to function 
in January 2004. He was connected to several drug trafficking 
investigations, and was the alleged owner of 58 kilos of 
cocaine seized by the Haitian National Police in June 2002. 
He remains in jail in the U.S. awaiting trial. 
 
-- Oriel JEAN: Jean was President Aristide's closest advisor 
on security matters, unofficial head of the HNP, and official 
chief of the Presidential Security Unit (PSU). He often 
communicated orders for the President and distributed money 
to armed gangs and political supporters.  Press reports have 
suggested that millions of dollars in unexplained checks were 
made out to Jean from a Presidential account during 
Aristide's administration. Jean remains in a Miami jail 
awaiting trial. 
 
-- Jacques KETANT: Ketant was one of the largest Haitian 
cocaine traffickers at the time of his arrest and expulsion 
to the U.S. in 2003. He regularly received security and other 
assistance from other individuals connected to the Aristide 
government who were also recently arrested, including Romaine 
Lestin, Stephanie Ambroise (airport director for American 
Airlines), and Jean Nesly Lucien. Ketant plead guilty in 2004 
and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. 
 
-- Romaine LESTIN: Lestin was a Lavalas party loyalist and 
thoroughly corrupt police officer suspected of involvement in 
drug trafficking, illegal migrant smuggling, and extortion. 
He illegally held concurrent positions as the Municipal 
Commissaire for Tabarre, the Airport Commissaire, and the 
Commandant of the SWAT unit of the HNP, and allegedly coerced 
airport employees into participating in criminal activity. 
Lestin had been previously fired from the Preval government 
for drug trafficking but was reinstated by President Aristide 
as a commissaire. He, too, is awaiting trial. 
 
-- Jean Nesly LUCIEN: Lucien is the former Director General 
of the Haitian National Police (i.e. chief of police) under 
Aristide who was arrested during travel to the United States 
for cocaine trafficking.  Earlier, he had served as 
Aristide's chauffeur.  Lucien pleaded guilty to money 
laundering in April 2005 and, according to press reports, 
will cooperate with authorities. 
 
-- Rudy THERASSAN: Therassan is a former National Police 
Commander of the SWAT unit, arrested in May 2004 in Miami by 
DEA as part of the same conspiracy as Lucien and Brillant. He 
plead guilty on April 20, 2005 to importing 22 pounds of 
cocaine into the United States as well as one count of money 
laundering. 
 
3. (U) In addition to those already arrested under U.S. 
indictment, several Lavalas associates are under 
investigation by Haiti's own Financial Intelligence Unit 
(FIU). The government announced in March, 2005 that more than 
9 billion Haitian Gourdes and 110 million dollars were 
embezzled from the government treasury during the last three 
years of the Aristide government.  The FIU claims it is close 
to releasing indictments for these allegations. 
 
Some arrested in Haiti 
---------------------- 
 
4. (SBU) We would also note that some of the officials 
identified in reftel as being connected to drug trafficking 
and/or government-sponsored political violence under Aristide 
are under arrest in Haiti.  Anthony Nazaire, the chief of the 
Palace motor pool under Aristide who provided Palace vehicles 
and security guards for drug shipments, was arrested in May 
2004 on suspicion of involvement in the December 5, 2004 
attack on a university by pro-Aristide hoodlums.  His case is 
awaiting trial.  Aristide's former Minister of Interior, 
Jocelerme Privert, is currently jailed under suspicion of 
involvement in a series of killings against Aristide foes and 
civilians that took place in Saint Marc in February 2004. 
The U.S. revoked his nonimmigrant visa in the fall of 2003 
due to his narcotrafficking ties, and he was also suspected 
of involvement in Aristide government death squads, and in 
the sale of Haitian passports to Middle Easterners.  In a 
separate category, finally, is Aristide's former Prime 
Minister Yvon Neptune, who is currently jailed for an alleged 
connection to the Saint Marc events.  He, however, played a 
key role assisting U.S. authorities in the rendition to the 
U.S. of drug traffickers Ketant and Eliobert Jasme -- the 
latter at some risk to himself given Eliobert's ties to the 
police. 
 
Comment 
------- 
5. (U) The picture that emerges from the trials, arrests and 
continuing investigations of members of Aristide's inner 
circle is that of an intricate network of drug traffickers 
and protection all closely connected to the Presidential 
Palace.  The Haitian National Police in particular were 
hijacked by the government via a flagrant disregard of proper 
police promotion procedures. The selective promotion of 
Lavalas loyalists politicized the government security 
apparatus from the top and converted it into the principal 
arm of the Presidential Palace for the control of drug 
trafficking throughout the country.  Aristide further 
undermined the police from below by placing criminal gang 
members directly into their ranks.  As described last year in 
reftel, by the end the Aristide government resembled a 
Mafia-like or criminal syndicate in which corruption, 
drug-trafficking, and political repression went hand in hand. 
FOLEY