16963: (Chamberlain) Haiti hands accused drug trafficker to U.S. (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, Oct 16 (Reuters) - Haitian police on Thursday
arrested a prominent businessman indicted by the United States for
drug-trafficking, and U.S. anti-drug officials immediately whisked him
away, said an official familiar with the case.
     Elie Aubert, known in the politically troubled Caribbean nation as
"ED1" for his ED1 Construction company, was detained on the outskirts of
the Haitian capital and handed over to the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration (DEA), said the Haiti-based official, who spoke on condition
of anonymity.
     A DEA official in Miami said he could not confirm details of the case
but believed it was related to a Fort Lauderdale indictment.
     Aubert's was the second high-profile drug-related detention in Haiti
in the last four months.
     Washington's annual report on the global drug trade said earlier this
year that Haiti's failing economy, corruption, weak police and faltering
democratic institutions made it a key stop for traffickers running cocaine
to the United States.
     Last month, President George W. Bush's annual report on how well other
countries were cooperating in the war on drugs said Haiti had "failed
demonstrably" to meet its obligations.
     The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with
Haiti, is also a major transit country for cocaine and heroin but
Washington says the government cooperates closely with the United States in
the drug war.