7614: [haiti] Gunmen shoot and kill U.S. citizen _ the second in two weeks (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: radman <resist@best.com>

April 5, 2001

Gunmen shoot and kill U.S. citizen _ the second in two weeks

By MICHAEL NORTON
Associated Press Writer

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)

Gunmen shot and killed a U.S.
citizen _ the second to be killed in the past two weeks, officials
said Wednesday.

Five attackers opened fire on Alejandro Morales, 31, Tuesday as
he was driving north of the capital, Port-au-Prince. A bullet
penetrated his shoulder and lodged in a lung, said a spokeswoman
for his employer Haytian Tractor, speaking on condition of
anonymity.

Morales, a native of Colombia, had been in Haiti for two years
working as a mechanic for the a construction and machinery company.
His wife and infant live in Miami, the Haiti-based company said.

A passenger in Morales' vehicle also was wounded in the attack,
thought to be an attempted robbery. Taking the wheel, he drove to a
nearby clinic where Morales later died. The unidentified gunmen
fled.

The U.S. embassy declined to confirm Morales' death because of
the U.S. Privacy Act. Police could not immediately be reached for
comment.

On March 23, an unidentified gunman shot and killed Maureen
Nielson, 33, after she left a bank in Port-au-Prince, U.S.
officials said. Nielson, a missionary from Rochester, New York, had
been working at an orphanage.

Although violent crime is common in Haiti, attacks on foreign
nationals have been relatively rare until this year.

The U.S. State Department has warned U.S. citizens against
traveling to Haiti due to the ``unstable security situation.'' A
recent advisory said ``violent crime is on the rise throughout the
country.''

``The state of law and order is of increasing concern, with
reports of armed robberies and break-ins, murders and car
hijackings becoming more frequent,'' the advisory said. ``The
limited response and enforcement capabilities of the Haitian
National Police and the judiciary mean there is little relief for
victims of crime.''

The Bon Repos bypass, where Morales was killed, has become
extremely dangerous as a frequent location of armed robberies. The
unlighted 8.9 kilometer (5.5 mile) bypass connects the seaside slum
of La Saline and the northbound highway.

Since Sunday, three people, including Morales, have been shot
and killed on the bypass. Another victim, a police inspector, was
critically wounded.