VZCZCXRO6759
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #0515/01 0741827
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151827Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5617
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1465
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1288
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0749
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1163

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PORT AU PRINCE 000515 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA (BEN-YEHUDA) 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC SNAR SMIG EAID SOCI HA
SUBJECT: POSTCARD FROM CAP HAITIEN 
 
REF: A. PORT AU PRINCE 512 
     ¶B. PORT AU PRINCE 477 
 
PORT AU PR 00000515  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary:  Cap Haitien, on the north coast of Haiti, 
is the country's second largest city with a population of 
roughly 100,000.  Local residents and officials downplay the 
city's insecurity problems, but cite lack of infrastructure 
and basic social services, such as garbage collection, as 
major issues.  The Haitian Coast Guard and MINUSTAH are 
working together to combat illegal migration and narcotics 
trafficking.  Many people are looking to tourism to 
revitalize the area.  While Cap Haitien has some potential, 
in the short and medium term it faces enormous challenges. 
End summary. 
 
--------------------- 
A View from City Hall 
--------------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  Outgoing mayor Aspile Fleurant, appointed to the 
position by the IGoH, is a strong USG supporter.  On March 1, 
Fleurant specifically pointed to Poloff the success of USAID 
projects including electricity, roads, and garbage pick-up. 
Per Fleurant, the biggest problems in Cap Haitien are 
environmental clean-up and sanitation, which impedes the 
city's potential tourist industry.  He hopes that the 
international community will be able to help, given the local 
government's very limited budget.  With regard to 
decentralization, Fleurant stated that it was ''merely 
theoretical'' and ''impossible'' because government officials 
always put their personal interests above those of the 
nation.  He was not impressed with civil society in Cap 
Haitien and stated that other than a few groups such as 
AFASDA (see para 3) and the Transportation Workers of the 
North, the sector is not very active.  Fleurant did not think 
security was a major issue in the city, and cited strong 
working relationships with local Haitian National Police 
(HNP), port authorities, and MINUSTAH.  He claimed to not 
have an opinion on the incoming mayor, Michel Saint Croix 
(ref A).  (Comment:  During the meeting, the mayor was 
distracted by both the incident at the port (ref B) and the 
pending return by the U.S. Coast Guard of the bodies of five 
Haitians lost at sea.  End comment.) 
 
------------------- 
Police and Security 
------------------- 
 
¶3. (U)  Joany Caneus has been the departmental director of 
the HNP for the north (DDN in French) since November 15, 
2006, and has been in the HNP since 1996.  In a conversation 
with Poloff on March 1, he stated that since he took the 
position of DDN the HNP has arrested ten kidnappers and 
seized eight firearms.  He generalized that the security 
situation in the north is not bad, but he is concerned that 
gang members who have been chased out of Cite Soleil by 
MINUSTAH will migrate to Cap Haitien and resume their 
activity.  He also lamented that the justice system in the 
north is very weak. 
 
----------- 
Coast Guard 
----------- 
 
¶4. (U)  On March 2 Poloff met with Haitian Coast Guard (HGC) 
officials and their UNPOL advisors on March 2.  They stated 
that the recently renovated base in Cap Haitien is 
strategically important for the prevention of both illegal 
migration and narcotics trafficking.  (Note: In 2004, rebels 
attacked the HGC base in Cap Haitien, destroying most of the 
building and its infrastructure.  End note.)  During the last 
six months of 2006, HGC independently intercepted and 
returned over 900 Haitian migrants and confiscated 7 vessels 
involved in these clandestine events.  (Note:  Typically, the 
USG repatriates approximately 3500 Haitian migrants annually, 
according to CGLO.  End note.)  While keeping a watchful eye 
on migrant smuggling trends in the northern region of Haiti, 
the HGC also foresees increased counter narcotics operations 
that require more resources.  In an effort to screen 
suspicious vessels, HGC officials will visit, board, and 
 
PORT AU PR 00000515  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
grant final departure clearance to every commercial vessel 
from the port of Cap Haitien.  Lastly, HGC routinely 
participates with partner agencies - the National Port 
Authority, HNP, Immigration, Customs, SEMANAH (Maritime and 
Navigation Service), UN Police and UN Military officials - in 
meetings to address issues related to port operations and 
maritime security. 
 
 
------------- 
Civil Society 
------------- 
 
¶5. (U)  Poloff met with a small group of Cap Haitien civil 
society members, including Association of Women in the Sun of 
Haiti(AFASDA), the Cap Haitien Citizen's Initiative, the 
Northern Democratic Platform and the Institute of Research 
for Economic Freedom and Prosperity (IRLET) on March 2.  The 
conversation centered mainly on national issues, with 
participants often citing that Haiti's problems needed to be 
dealt with on a national and, more importantly, international 
level.  When the attendees did speak specifically about Cap 
Haitien, one of the major problems they noted was that all of 
the resources, both human and financial, are concentrated in 
Port-au-Prince.  As in the rest of the country, Cap Haitien 
is absorbing more and more people as the rural exodus 
progresses, and the population of the city has tripled in the 
last ten years.  They agreed that Cap Haitien needs jobs and 
an industrial park, and that the area would be wonderful for 
tourism. However it needs outside investment to create the 
viable infrastructure necessary to support it.  One of the 
biggest holes in infrastructure is the airport, which is too 
small and needs to be expanded to absorb more domestic and 
international flights.  When speaking about the work of GoH 
ministries in the north, the prevalent theme was that nothing 
is happening at the central level, which means that there is 
no possibility for any activity to filter down to the lower 
levels.  One attendee described the process of 
decentralization as ''just transferring corruption and 
incompetence from the central to the local government.'' 
 
------- 
Tourism 
------- 
 
¶6. (U)  Minister of Tourism Patrick Delatour sees a lot of 
potential for tourism in the north, home to the historic 
Citadel and Sans Souci Palace as well as the pristine private 
beach of Labadie.  In a meeting with USAID and Poloff on 
March 1, he outlined his plan for development in the area. 
He said that the north has potential for 11,000 hotel rooms 
and he is interested in the creation of a guarantee fund 
within the International Finance Corporation for attracting 
investment in medium and small hotels.  He also views the 
diaspora as a funding source.  Tourists are progressively 
moving west from the Dominican Republic, with the road 
financed by the EU between Cap Haitien and Ouanaminthe 
(scheduled for completion in 2008) facilitating this 
movement.  Other roads need to be developed too, such as the 
one between Labadie and the Citadel, allowing tourists from 
the cruise ships that dock regularly at Labadie to visit the 
Citadel as well.  The Minister accompanied Royal Caribbean to 
Washington recently to solicit financing (25 million USD) for 
the construction of a pier at Labadie so that the site can 
host more ships from other cruise lines.  Delatour also 
envisions bringing tourists from Labadie to downtown Cap 
Haitien via boat once Cap is restored to its historic 
grandeur; as well as developing the Fort Liberte/Plantation 
Dauphin area to the east. 
 
¶7. (U)  Comment:  Cap Haitien shows promise, but it lacks 
infrastructure and the local government finds it difficult to 
offer basic social services to the population.  The city not 
only needs development, but also citizens need to accept 
responsibility for their own fate instead of criticizing the 
central government and international community for never 
doing enough.  Though officials tried to downplay security 
problems, it is clear that gang activity and drug-trafficking 
are still matters of concern, albeit not on the same scale as 
in the capital and some other major cities like Gonaives. 
 
PORT AU PR 00000515  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
The improving strength of the Haitian Coast Guard is 
encouraging as Haiti seeks to have a greater impact in 
counter-narcotics efforts.  Additionally, the north coast is 
beautiful and the potential for tourism is obvious.  The 
local government must continue looking for ways to exploit 
their tourist resources, while at the same time, the business 
community must engage fully to create a better atmosphere for 
investment. 
SANDERSON