US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE2620

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 002620 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
DRL 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
DEA HQ WASHDC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ASEC, KJUS, KCRM, HA, PRM 
SUBJECT: HAITI CREATES COMMISSION FOR DEPORTEES, SEEKS 
"HALFWAY HOUSE" 
 
1. Minister of Justice Henri Dorleans told the Charge October 
18 that the IGOH had appointed a Commission to oversee 
criminals deported from the United States and was examining 
the possibility of creating a halfway house (Centre de 
Transition) for deportees in Haiti. Dorleans explained that 
the MOJ had already drafted a decree (septel) for the 
Commission's recommendations that would be passed shortly by 
the IGOH. Among the recommendations in the decree is the 
establishment of a halfway house for those deportees that 
needed assistance in transitioning to a normal life in a 
country many of them barely knew. The MOJ had already 
identified the names of some deportees currently in prison 
who would be immediately eligible to move to the center, and 
also identified a location for the facility. (Note: the house 
identified belonged to Serge Edouard, now serving a sentence 
in Miami prison for drug trafficking. The house is reportedly 
part of the assets seized by the Justice Department as part 
of the judgment against Edouard. End note). 
 
2. Secretary of State for Public Security David Basile first 
described the idea of the halfway house and the specific 
location of the center to the DCM on September 23. Basile 
said the halfway house would serve as a transition center for 
non-violent deportees and could also provide a forum for 
specialized training of Haitian prison system authorities and 
guards. Basile added that some Haitians might be deported 
from the U.S. after sentencing to serve their prison term in 
Haiti in a specialized facility under U.S. supervision. Both 
Basile and Dorleans said that in order to take possession of 
the house and establish the transition center, the IGOH 
needed to conclude an agreement with the U.S. to allow Haiti 
to apply the judgment rendered against Serge Edouard in 
Haiti. (Note: Dorleans is drafting a proposal that would 
establish a process under which Haiti might execute judgments 
against all Haitian criminals convicted in the United States. 
See septel. End note). 
 
3. Dorleans added that the Commission has also requested 
greater cooperation from U.S. immigration authorities in 
order to better handle the periodic influx of criminal 
deportees. Specifically, Dorleans asked the Charge to provide 
a list of Haitian prisoners currently incarcerated in the 
U.S. and schedules for their deportation so that Haitian 
authorities might prepare in advance for their arrival. 
 
4. Comment: Haiti is not the only country in the Western 
Hemisphere that faces the chore of integrating criminal 
deportees from the U.S., but its judicial and penitentiary 
system is perhaps uniquely inadequate for the task. Post 
supports IGOH efforts to establish a center for managing the 
influx of deportees and is examining ways in which we can 
support it, including the specific disposition of the Eduoard 
house. We also support greater information-sharing between 
U.S. and Haitian authorities and request that DHS keep post 
informed of longer-term schedules for deportations that can 
be shared with the IGOH. End comment. 
 
CARNEY