20613: (Hermantin)Miami-Herald-Aristide security chief held on drug charges (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Sat, Mar. 20, 2004


MIAMI


Aristide security chief held on drug charges

BY TERE FIGUERAS

tfigueras@herald.com


The one-time security chief of former Haitian president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide arrived in Miami Friday night to face a drug-trafficking conspiracy
charge.

Oriel Jean, detained earlier this month after arriving at a Toronto airport,
waived extradition from Canada and boarded a commercial flight bound for
Miami International Airport.

His traveling companions: an escort of Drug Enforcement Agency agents, said
Special Agent Joe Kilmer.

Jean is charged in a criminal complaint with ''conspiring to import cocaine
from outside the United States,'' Kilmer said.

The arrest marks the first time a member of Aristide's inner circle stands
accused of drug-trafficking before a U.S. court. Aristide's critics say he
did little to prevent Haiti's role as a conduit for Colombian cocaine bound
for U.S. consumers.

Jean, appointed by Aristide as security chief of the National Palace in
Port-au-Prince, retained his post even after the United States withdrew his
visa in 2002.

Jean has denied the drug-trafficking allegations, and his lawyer said he
served merely as a bodyguard to Aristide.

On March 12, Jean and his wife flew into Toronto's Pearson International
Airport from the Dominican Republic.

Canadian authorities said Jean posed a danger to the Canadian public, citing
his alleged link to organized crime and drug trafficking.

After landing in Miami, Jean was photographed, fingerprinted and processed
at the DEA offices. He is currently at the Federal Detention Center in
downtown Miami. Jean's first court appearance is scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday
before a U.S. magistrate judge.

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