FORMER ARISTIDE SECURITY CHIEF ARRESTED

Member of Deposed Haitian Government Suspected of War Crimes, Drug
Trafficking

The security chief to ousted Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide
was arrested this week as he flew into Toronto's Pearson International
Airport, and is being held on suspicion of war crimes and drug
trafficking.

Oriel Jean, 39, flew from the Dominican Republic with his wife
Bettina, 34, on Wednesday, travelling on visitor's visas obtained when
they were members of Mr. Aristide's government, which fell Feb. 29.

They were carrying $10,000 in U.S. currency, but did not have any
drugs or weapons.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada detained Mr. Jean on the grounds
that he is a danger to the public and is suspected of committing
crimes against humanity.

A detention review will be held on Monday at the Immigration and
Refugee Board to determine whether Mr. Jean can be released.

"According to various sources, Mr. Jean's security force is
responsible for committing crimes against humanity. Reliable
information indicates that the position Mr. Jean was in made it
impossible for him to plead ignorance of crimes against humanity
committed by his subordinates," CIC documents note.

"According to information from various sources, Mr. Jean was part of a
group of Haitian officials which trafficked internationally in drugs,
a group linked to transnational criminal cartels."

CIC will argue he is inadmissible to Canada on these
grounds.

Guidy Mamann, Mr. Jean's lawyer, said it appeared immigration
authorities were "casually throwing around" the label of war criminal.
"These are serious allegations and have not yet been proven. How come
Mr. Aristide is not being charged with war crimes?" Mr. Mamann said.

After weeks of violence and a popular uprising in Haiti, Mr. Aristide
went into self-imposed exile in the Central African Republic in
February, but later said he was the victim of a "political kidnapping"
by the U.S. military.

Mr. Aristide plans to visit Jamaica next week, leading to fears he
will further destabilize his still-volatile country.

Sources told The Globe and Mail that Mr. Aristide's former security
chief is wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for
alleged drug trafficking, and that he may be connected to one of
Haiti's most flamboyant drug traffickers, Jacques Beaudoin Ketan.
"There may be charges laid against Mr. Jean," a police source said.

In February, just before Mr. Ketan was sentenced to 27 years in a
Miami prison, he said he could not have thrived without paying
millions in bribes to his close friend Mr. Aristide. He admitted to
moving more than 30 tonnes of cocaine between Colombia and the United
States over a 12-year period, and accused Mr. Aristide of being a
"drug lord." Mr. Aristide denied the allegations through his lawyer,
Ira Kurzban.

Mr. Jean travelled to Canada in late 2003 for medical treatment, and
at the time U.S. officials asked him to be questioned for links to
drug traffickers, but he was able to return to Haiti.

He is currently in Toronto's Metro West Detention Centre, while his
wife is at the Celebrity Inn, an immigration holding centre in
Mississauga.