a81: Ecuador detains Haitian accused of coup plot (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

    QUITO, Ecuador, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A former police officer accused of
planning this week's armed assault on Haiti's presidential palace was
detained in Ecuador on Wednesday, Ecuador's deputy foreign minister said.
     Nine people were killed in the attack and resulting mob violence in
Haiti on Monday, though President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was not harmed and
his government remained intact.
     Former police officer Guy Philippe was detained at Quito's airport at
the request of Haitian authorities, Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Jaime
Marchan said.
     Philippe has denied any involvement in the apparent coup attempt.
     "He was detained by immigration authorities ... We are going to deport
him as soon as possible," Marchan told reporters.
     Philippe will be deported to Panama, the last country he entered
before arriving in Ecuador, Marchan said, adding that the request to detain
him came from Haitian Foreign Affairs Minister Antonio Joseph.
     "The Foreign Affairs Ministry got in direct contact with Haiti's
foreign affairs minister ... who confirmed that Guy Philippe is effectively
one of the main intellectual authors of this failed coup attempt," Marchan
said.
     Philippe traveled to Ecuador on an investor visa previously granted by
the Andean country. Marchan said the visa had been revoked.
     Speaking on Radio Carnival in Miami, where tens of thousands of
Haitians live, Philippe, a former police chief in the northern city of Cap
Haitien, denied public speculation that he was involved in the attack.