US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE1313

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001313 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KCRM, EAID, PINR, HA 
SUBJECT: PORT-DE-PAIX: HAITI'S WILD NORTHWEST 
 
1.   Summary.  Ambassador Foley visited Port-de-Paix on April 
20 to meet with political, religious and economic leaders, as 
well as U.S. citizens in the region.  While petty crime is 
high in Port-de-Paix, the city has not had any political 
violence recently.  MINUSTAH's Argentine forces based out of 
Gonaives are making only a window-dressing effort in 
Port-de-Paix, but the ex-FAd'H in the region are demobilized. 
 Nevertheless, the Haitian National Police in the Northwest 
Department do not have enough equipment or officers to 
successfully enforce law and order.  The region is home to a 
flourishing smuggling trade in drugs, humans, and contraband. 
 End Summary. 
 
2.   Port-de-Paix, the capital of the Northwest department, 
is a city of approximately 150,000 on Haiti's northern coast. 
 It is sheltered from the ocean by the Ile de La Tortue and 
is a common embarkation point for illegal migration to the 
U.S.  In a welcome briefing, the French Regional CivPol 
commander stated that crime is high, the justice system is 
nonexistent, major drug traffickers operate in the area and 
on neighboring Ile de La Tortue (sometimes in conjunction 
with local HNP), and unknown aircraft land at the 
Port-de-Paix airstrip regularly.  He said he had yet to see 
any elections activity in the city (MINUSTAH has no civilian 
presence there yet).  With respect to the approximately 50 
ex-military, he said some of them have received partial 
"compensation" payments from the IGOH while others were still 
waiting, but they were quiet and he did not anticipate a 
remobilization. 
 
3.   In a meeting with civic and religious leaders, the 
Ambassador asked what pressing needs existed in the region. 
Mayor Morange Petit and Delegue Henri-Max Thelus both cited 
the need to rehabilitate and modernize the roads linking 
Port-de-Paix with Gonaives to the South and Cap Haitien to 
the East.  Without these roads, commerce in the region is 
almost exclusively conducted by sea and air, often directly 
with Miami and circumventing Haitian customs authorities. 
Additionally, city roads are in very rough shape, but there 
is little that can be done because heavy equipment cannot 
make the trip from Port-au-Prince due to road conditions. 
The Mayor and Delegue requested assistance in procuring heavy 
construction equipment such as a grader, backhoe and front 
end loader.  (Note: This summer, USAID will begin 
rehabilitating 20 kilometers of the Port-de-Paix-Gonaives 
road and will replace two bridges as part of the Tropical 
Storm Recovery Project.  USAID will also rehab 13 kilometers 
of the Gonaives-Cap Haitien road.  These projects are 
currently in the design stage, but should begin in the next 
couple of months.) 
 
4.   With respect to roads, police equipment, and general 
governmental support, all parties were unanimous in stating 
that the central government does nothing for them.  Thelus 
claimed that his office had made many requests for government 
projects and funding, but that no assistance was forthcoming 
and that all of his proposals are pending in Port-au-Prince. 
The Ambassador asked if contraband is a problem in 
Port-de-Paix and received only downturned heads and muted 
mumbling in response. 
 
5.   HNP Departmental Director Nicolas Adalbert Prato painted 
a bleak picture of HNP readiness in Port-de-Paix.  The HNP 
has only 150 officers for the entire department, 70 of whom 
are stationed in Port-de-Paix, which translates into one 
officer per 20,000 residents.  They have only two vehicles 
for the department.  While organized gang violence is not a 
real threat in the city, crime is high and police resources 
are low.  Prato also said that the airport is not secure, the 
runway is in terrible shape, and air traffic (small planes) 
is heavy. 
 
6.   Bishop Paulo Pierre-Antoine agreed that there are no 
organized gangs at present, but he also noted that there are 
weapons in Port-de-Paix that have been hidden since 
Aristide's departure.  He believes that these weapons could 
resurface and the city could erupt in gang violence at a 
moment's notice.  He also made reference to several thousand 
Haitians who had been displaced by Tropical Storm Jeanne in 
the Northwest department, and he spoke of a 50-home community 
the church is planning with a price tag of USD100,000, for 
which funding was not yet available. 
 
7.   The Ambassador asked whether safe elections would be 
possible in Port-de-Paix.  Bishop Pierre-Antoine said it 
would be very difficult; the three most important factors 
were the pacification of the ex-FAd'H, the equipping of the 
HNP, and the presence of MINUSTAH in Port-de-Paix.  Lack of 
an organized police and military presence was allowing gangs 
to become masters of certain areas of the city.  Bishop 
Pierre-Antoine also stated that "whoever planned for the 
departure of Aristide didn't do a good job of planning for 
the aftermath", to which the Ambassador responded that the 
USG certainly didn't plan Aristide's departure, and it was 
clear that Guy Philippe hadn't made many plans for the 
aftermath either.  The consensus of the participants was that 
successful elections are possible, but that no one has begun 
planning or talking about it yet. 
 
8.   The Ambassador then visited Sonlight Academy, an 
English-language immersion school run by American 
missionaries, and met briefly with approximately 50 American 
citizens from the region.  Their questions focused on the 
security situation and the prospect for safe elections, as 
well as the likelihood of a US military presence.  The 
majority of the American community in Port-de-Paix is 
affiliated with the missionary school in some way. 
 
9.   Comment.  Despite the lack of security presence, the 
city appeared to be less destitute than Port-au-Prince. 
While traveling through the town, we noticed a convoy of 
Argentine soldiers moving into town, and we later found them 
securing the airfield upon our departure.  It had the 
appearance of a hastily-assembled attempt at showing a 
presence, but all those with whom the Ambassador met were 
unanimous that the Argentine forces based in Gonaives were 
almost completely absent.  This is doubly regrettable as the 
region is infamous for drug trafficking.  End Comment. 
GRIFFITHS