agreed to by the U.S. and Haitian governments. In addition, other key police 

units are not fully operational or are not operational at all because the 

government has not provided the needed resources.

U.S. assistance to improve the investigative capabilities of the police has 

been constrained by the failure of the Haitian government to vigorously 

support investigations of police corruption and serious crimes, including 

drug related crimes and political assassinations, according to U.S. officials. 

In March 2000, the State Department reported that the Haitian government 

had failed to investigate drug related corruption involving police officers. 

The Department of State also reported in July 2000 that little progress had 

been made in bringing to justice persons responsible for major killings, 

such as political killings, in Haiti. The Department of State said that the 

government of Haiti has  a general record of recalcitrance and 

foot dragging in pursuing cases of extrajudicial and political killings.  

According to the Department of State, the U.S. government remains 

concerned about the government of Haiti's lack of support for the Haitian 

police's special investigations unit, which has been responsible for 

investigating major killings, including political assassinations. Such lack of 

support is manifested by a failure to maintain the human resources of the 

unit, which have declined by about 80 percent since 1997.

U.S. assistance to the Haitian police has also been undermined by the 

Haitian government's failure to keep the police out of politics during the 

last year. The force's inaction during several violent campaign incidents; 

the force's failure to investigate political assassinations; and the force's 

actions following the May 2000 elections, which led to the arrest of several 

political candidates, showed the government's lack of commitment to 

strengthening the police and seriously compromised the impartiality and 

image of the police. For instance, the police lost credibility by failing to 

protect facilities and activities of the opposition during the recent political 

campaign and by arresting opposition candidates following the May 2000 

elections. According to the Haitian police, the force made 146 arrests 

around the time of these elections, from May 16 until June 12. About 

one third of those arrested were members of the opposition, including 

several opposition candidates.

Page 18

GAO 01 24  Foreign Assistance