HAITIAN DRUG SMUGGLER SENTENCED TO 20 YEARS OF PRISON

A convicted Haitian cocaine smuggler who is providing inside information in
the probe of alleged trafficking in deposed President Jean-Bertrand
Aristide's administration was sentenced Wednesday in Miami federal court to
nearly 20 years in prison.

The sentencing of Jean Eliobert Jasme -- among the U.S. government's top
drug targets worldwide -- was for the 2004 convictions on two trafficking
conspiracy indictments issued in Miami and New York. They alleged that
Jasme, 42, moved thousands of kilos of cocaine during the past decade from
Colombia to Haiti, while others smuggled the loads into the United States.

A codefendant, Wista Louis, 45, charged with arranging transportation for
cocaine shipments from Haiti to the United States, was sentenced to almost
16 years in prison. She also must pay a $25,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Loo prosecuted the case before U.S.
District Judge Marcia Cooke. Both defendants pleaded guilty last year and
face deportation upon the completion of their sentences.

No evidence has ever been presented in federal court implicating Aristide
in the alleged drug-smuggling conspiracy. The former Haitian president,
ousted a year ago, is in exile in South Africa.

The government is building its case in part on the word of convicted drug
smugglers hoping to shave years off their prison terms, as well as
finger-pointing officials targeted in the crackdown.

Since Aristide's ouster almost a year ago, the Haitian government has been
cooperating with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in turning over
narcotics suspects and official documents.

Jasme, 42, was expelled in 2003 by Aristide under pressure from the DEA.
Also at that time, Aristide expelled two other trafficking suspects: Carlos
Ovalle, a Colombian accused of coordinating cocaine shipments, and Eddy
Aurelien, a former Miami resident and music promoter charged with
distributing crack cocaine.

Ovalle and Aurelian immediately pleaded guilty and started giving extensive
information to federal prosecutors, the DEA and the Florida Department of
Law Enforcement agents.

Their expulsion followed that of Beaudoin "Jacques" Ketant in June 2003,
who pleaded guilty to smuggling 30 tons of cocaine from Haiti to the United
States.

Ketant is helping federal authorities in order to reduce his sentence. Just
before Aristide's ouster, a Miami federal judge sentenced Ketant to 27
years in prison and ordered him to pay $30 million in fines and forfeitures.

Ketant has since told federal investigators that he paid Aristide and his
former head of presidential palace security up to $500,000 a month to let
him land planes loaded with cocaine on a national route near Port-au-Prince.

At least seven other defendants have been named in later criminal
complaints or indictments that allege they forced traffickers to pay
hundreds of thousands of dollars to protect their cocaine shipments or were
actively involved in smuggling drugs into the United States.

Four former Haitian law enforcement officials listed in one indictment face
trial on April 18. They are Jean Nesly Lucien, National Police director;
Rudy Therassan, National Police commander; Evintz Brillant, Haitian
anti-drug chief, and Romaine Lestin, former Port-au-Prince airport police
commander.

Others in custody are Oriel Jean, Aristide's former bodyguard, whose
arraignment is set for Feb. 18; ex-Haitian Sen. Jean-Marie Fourel Celestin,
and Jean Salim Batrony, a reputed drug smuggler.