Haiti

Haiti's prime minister comes home from Florida

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Gerard Latortue, a once-exiled former foreign minister chosen to lead Haiti out of political turmoil, returned from the United States Wednesday to begin the arduous task of building a government. Loyalists of the former president said they wouldn't accept him.

His arrival came as the U.S. military announced an escalation in its mission in the Caribbean nation, promising Marines will move quickly to stop violence among Haitians.

"They will intervene to protect life," Gen. James Hill, commander of U.S. Southern Command, told reporters at the Pentagon.

In Washington, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., said he fears the administration is pursuing "an Afghanistan solution" to Haiti, with a concentration of U.S. Marines in the capital, "with everyone else in the country pretty much naked."

At a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Graham, Florida Democrat Bill Nelson and Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, urged Assistant Secretary of State Roger Noriega to not only increase military forces, but to speed up relief and economic assistance.

DeWine said Congress is ready to allocate "much more" than the current aid level of about $52-million a year to Haiti, and Nelson told Noriega: "If you do that, you will find willing senators who will support you, but we need a coach to call the plays."

Since Sunday, Marines have killed at least four Haitians, including a driver who sped toward a checkpoint and a gunman who fired on an anti-Aristide demonstration. On Tuesday, the American troops shot to death two Haitians who opened fire near the outgoing prime minister's private residence.

After walking off a plane that brought him from Florida, Latortue said his top priorities were security, justice, decentralization of power and organizing elections.

"I came here with my mind open to work with everyone in Haiti," he said. "I'm not a member of any political party."

Once critical of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, he has said his first priority will be to unite a population divided between those who oppose the former leader and supporters who want to see him returned to power.

He also said he would rely on retired army Lt. Gen. Herard Abraham to rein in security and said he wanted to offer money to those willing to disarm.

Aristide fled Feb. 29 amid international pressure to step down and a bloody rebellion that left more than 300 dead. The once popular slum priest, elected on promises to champion the poor, lost support as Haitians accused his government of corruption and attacks against his political opponents.

In the Central African Republic, Aristide still maintained he is the legitimate leader of Haiti and that U.S. officials forced him from office. On Wednesday, his lawyers said they were preparing cases accusing authorities in the United States and France of abducting him and forcing him into exile.

U.S. officials have denied they forced Aristide from office, saying they helped him escape from Haiti as rebels advanced on the capital.

Staff Sgt. Timothy Edwards said Marines were patrolling near the private residence of outgoing Prime Minister Yvon Neptune on Tuesday when they were shot at. The Marines fired back and killed at least two gunmen, he said. No peacekeepers were wounded.

Latortue, 69, spent 25 years in exile during the 29-year Duvalier family dictatorship, which ended in 1986. He became foreign minister in 1988 for President Leslie Manigat, who was toppled in a coup.

He spent part of his career with the U.N. Industrial Development Organization in Africa, and also worked as an international business consultant in Miami. Most recently, he has been living in Boca Raton but has returned to visit Haiti several times a year.

Latortue and interim President Boniface Alexandre will begin organizing elections and building a new government for Haiti. Under Aristide, the prime minister's position was largely ceremonial.

- Information from Knight Ridder Newspapers was used in this report.

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