VZCZCXRO6833
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #1667 2511221
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 081221Z SEP 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3972
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1215
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1057
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0574
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L PORT AU PRINCE 001667 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR 
EB/IFD 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
COMMERCE FOR SCOTT SMITH 
TREASURY FOR JEFFERY LEVINE 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/08/2016 
TAGS: ECON EAID PGOV PINS HA
SUBJECT: CUSTOMS DG REPLACED 
 
REF: PAP 1609 
 
Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Thomas C. Tighe for reasons 1.4 (b) an 
d (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) President Rene Preval on September 7 replaced 
Director General of Customs Edouard Vales Jean-Laurent with 
Jean Jacques Valentin, who was the customs' DG from 1994 
until 2004 under former President Jean Bertrand Aristide and 
during Preval's first term.  Preval's economic advisor 
Gabriel Verret told econoff September 7 that some people 
around Preval promoted Valentin because he had granted favors 
to "well-connected people" during his first tenure.  For 
example, he said Valentin allowed Youri Latortue, now the 
senior senator from Gonaives, to hire his "cronies" to run 
customs' operations in Gonaives.  Informed Haitians see 
Valentin as Aristide's right-hand man and know him as someone 
who collected money through smuggling to finance the Aristide 
Foundation.  Jean-Laurent, on the other hand, almost doubled 
customs' revenues since the beginning of the Preval 
administration and stood his ground against corruption.  Even 
Valentin's sister-in-law, a personal acquaintance of the 
embassy's political specialist, expressed disbelief and 
disgust at Valentin's promotion. 
 
¶2.  (C) Verret emphasized that the replacement of 
Jean-Laurent was not a unanimous recommendation, citing 
himself and Preval's confidante Bob Manuel as advocators for 
retaining Jean-Laurent.  He also mentioned that both he and 
Manuel have been on vacation for the last couple of weeks, 
and that perhaps they could have changed the President's 
final decision had they been in country.  Earlier this week, 
the chamber of deputies' finance commission, headed by Jonas 
Coffy, sent a letter to the GOH and said it had five days 
fire Jean-Laurent and re-assign the customs director at 
Malpasse on the Dominican border, Jeantal Clervil.  Finance 
minister Daniel Dorsainvil indicated that the government 
would not respond to this request, and that the situation in 
Malpasse would not change.  Verret said that the letter from 
the parliamentarians, although it bolstered the argument of 
"certain people" in favor of Valentin, had little to do with 
the replacement.  (Note: Per reftel, strikers on the 
Haitian-DR border have been calling for the GOH to dismiss 
Clervil, who was appointed by Jean-Laurent.  End note.) 
 
¶3.  (C) Polcouns spoke to Verret and Jean-Laurent at Brazil's 
national day reception September 7.  Both were in a somber 
mood, and Verret confirmed that he had "made his views known" 
to Preval but his advice was not accepted.  Jean-Laurent was 
visibly dismayed, saying he had worked 12 hour days for his 
country and the results showed.  He confirmed that Clervil 
remained at his post "for now," but expressed concern about 
his future.  He said he had earlier worked for Valentin and 
was guarded in his assessment, but agreed he had buckled 
under pressure from Aristide.  A line of Haitians approached 
Jean-Laurent to express their astonishment and/or outrage 
over his firing. 
 
¶4.  (C) Comment: After the excitement over the strike on the 
Malpasse border, and the GOH's firm response to maintain 
their stance and raise government revenues, the replacement 
of Jean-Laurent with Valentin is a shock.  Not only does this 
put into question Preval's will to fight smuggling and 
corruption, but it also questions Preval's strength in the 
face of those who want Haiti to return to "business as usual." 
TIGHE