28039: (news) Chamberlain: Two U.S. Embassy guards killed in Haiti (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, March 2 (Reuters) - Two Haitian men who worked
as security guards for the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince were shot to
death as they went home from work, the embassy said on Thursday.
     Gary Michel Joseph and Ernst Polo were killed late on Wednesday and
their bodies were found in a residential area of the capital on Thursday,
the embassy said in a statement.
     The killings came as Haitian police reported a drop in crime since the
Feb. 7 presidential and legislative elections, particularly in dangerous
slums such as Cite Soleil.
     Haiti had been plagued by political and gang violence and a spate of
kidnappings for ransom in the months leading up to the vote.
     Police said slum gangs opposed to the interim government that has run
Haiti since ex-president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed two years ago
called a halt to the violence, allowing the elections to be held in
relative safety.
     "Measures taken at the political level have contributed to easing the
security situation," said Jean St.-Fleur, director of Haiti's
administrative police. "In places such as Cite Soleil, Bel-Air and other
places reputed as dangerous, the number of kidnappings is practically
zero."
     The U.S. Embassy called the slain guards "devoted professionals" and
said it was working with Haitian and U.N. police to find the killers.