- Sorry for the crappy formatting :\
From the new york times.
Foreign torturers enjoy the good life in
Florida
By DOUG SAUNDERS
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - Globe and Mail
ORLANDO, FLA. -- If you want to visit the man
charged with one of the bloodiest military atrocities
in
Haiti's history, you'll have to drive down to Florida
and
turn left just before you hit Walt Disney World.
There, on a slightly seedy street in the blue-collar
western suburbs of Orlando, is the wood-shingled
bungalow that has for years been home to
Major-General Jean-Claude Duperval. He was briefly
the most powerful man in Haiti, in the violent
aftermath
of a coup that ruptured the island in the early 1990s.
Haitian courts have convicted him in absentia in
connection with the Raboteau massacre, in which
scores of unarmed families in a seaside slum were
driven out of town and shot.
He is one of hundreds of accused torturers,
executioners and other serious human-rights abusers
from foreign countries who live freely in the United
States. Neighbours say he lives quietly with his wife
and children, although his sources of income have
become more obscure since he lost his job at Disney
World last year, when the theme park learned of
certain items missing from his résumé.
Gen. Duperval is a legal resident of the United
States,
and officials say it would be difficult to deport him
despite his background. He was considered an ally by
many U.S. officials before the coup, and it is likely
that
his entry to the United States was granted in
exchange for information.
He is far from alone. According to human-rights
groups, the state of Florida alone is home to more
than 100 torturers and killers from Haiti, Chile,
Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and elsewhere. Most
are living there legally, often in the same
neighbourhoods as their former victims, and only
recently have a handful begun to face pressure from
immigration authorities.
"The United States still lags far behind other
countries
in recognizing and prosecuting torturers and killers
from other countries,
and in many cases we've welcomed them in and given
them asylum," said
Richard Krieger, a human-rights lawyer with the
Florida-based group
International Educational Missions, which tracks
foreign offenders. "We just
don't have the laws to deal with them."
That problem has become a source of embarrassment to
some U.S.
politicians, who point out that Washington is in the
midst of a massive
deportation program in which thousands of people from
countries
associated with terrorism, such as Iran and Pakistan,
are forced to leave
the United States if they lack proper documentation.
Meanwhile, many
people convicted or accused of atrocities are allowed
to remain.
"There's a very clear line between suspected or even
potential terrorists, on
the one hand, and on the other hand human-rights
abusers," said Vienna
Colucci, an international-justice specialist with
Amnesty International. "A lot
of resources are being devoted to terrorism, and
almost no attention is
being paid to other crimes against humanity -- in
fact, some people now
believe that the case for one diminishes from the
other."
In many cases, these unsavoury figures owe their
peaceful residence in the
United States to deals with U.S. government bodies
such as the Central
Intelligence Agency. Many were arranged during the
Cold War, when they
provided information on regimes or even on their own
crimes in exchange
for immigration clearance.
Groups such as Amnesty fear that similar deals are
being made with
torturers in the current war on terrorism. But in
other cases, such people
are able to enter the United States repeatedly,
despite the fact that U.S.
border officials have a computerized "watch list."
Human-rights groups have
identified 14 known or suspected offenders who have
moved directly to the
United States after having been deported from Canada.
Unlike Ottawa, Washington lacks a law that would force
people who have
committed human-rights abuses or crimes against
humanity to be tried or
deported to their home countries. For several years,
politicians from both
major political parties have tried to pass a bill
known as the Human Rights
Abusers Act or the Anti-Atrocity Bill, which would
make deportations,
extraditions and trials possible. Many observers doubt
that the current
Congress will debate it, because agencies such as the
CIA would prefer to
maintain the ability to offer asylum to useful
sources.
Even in cases in which foreign countries have asked
that suspects be
extradited, the United States has been slow to
respond.
Another Florida resident is Armando Fernandez-Larios,
a former officer in
Augusto Pinochet's Chilean regime who is accused of
tortures and killings
of political opponents after that country's 1973 coup.
When he came to the
United States in 1987, he confessed to having
responsibility for the car
bombing of Chilean foreign minister Orlando Letelier
in Washington in 1976.
In exchange for information, the United States reduced
his sentence to four
months from 13 years and agreed that he could not be
extradited to Chile.
However, he is now wanted for questioning in Argentina
for the 1974
assassination of Chilean General Carlos Prats in
Buenos Aires. Although he
can be extradited legally to Argentina, the U.S.
Immigration and
Naturalization Service has been slow to respond, and
he reportedly is still
living a comfortable life in a Miami suburb. Without
criminal legislation to
help them, some victims have turned to lawsuits. In
the case of Mr.
Fernandez Larios, Mr. Krieger's group has filed a suit
on behalf of people
allegedly killed by the Chilean military.
Free in America
Hundreds of documented torturers, secret-police agents
and foreign
human-rights abusers are believed to be living in the
United States. Some of
the most infamous known cases:
General Guillermo Garcia, South Florida: A former
minister of defence in
El Salvador, where 75,000 people were killed and many
tortured under his
regime.
Emanuel (Toto) Constant, Queens, N.Y.: Was the leader
of the FRAPH
death squad in Haiti, where a court found him guilty
in absentia.
Jamie Ramirez, Hialeah, Fla: A former member of the
Honduran Death
Squad, he is wanted for murder in his home country.
Xingha Tang, San Francisco: Accused of performing
experimental
surgery on Chinese prisoners, he has been granted
asylum.
Didier Cedras, South Florida: A brother and adviser to
Haitian dictator
Raul Cedras, he has been implicated in the deaths of
government
opponents. His immigration status is in limbo.
The Martial Plan
February 21, 2003 - New York Times
By PAUL KRUGMAN
From the new york times.
Foreign torturers enjoy the good life in
Florida
By DOUG SAUNDERS
Tuesday, February 18, 2003 - Globe and Mail
ORLANDO, FLA. -- If you want to visit the man
charged with one of the bloodiest military atrocities
in
Haiti's history, you'll have to drive down to Florida
and
turn left just before you hit Walt Disney World.
There, on a slightly seedy street in the blue-collar
western suburbs of Orlando, is the wood-shingled
bungalow that has for years been home to
Major-General Jean-Claude Duperval. He was briefly
the most powerful man in Haiti, in the violent
aftermath
of a coup that ruptured the island in the early 1990s.
Haitian courts have convicted him in absentia in
connection with the Raboteau massacre, in which
scores of unarmed families in a seaside slum were
driven out of town and shot.
He is one of hundreds of accused torturers,
executioners and other serious human-rights abusers
from foreign countries who live freely in the United
States. Neighbours say he lives quietly with his wife
and children, although his sources of income have
become more obscure since he lost his job at Disney
World last year, when the theme park learned of
certain items missing from his résumé.
Gen. Duperval is a legal resident of the United
States,
and officials say it would be difficult to deport him
despite his background. He was considered an ally by
many U.S. officials before the coup, and it is likely
that
his entry to the United States was granted in
exchange for information.
He is far from alone. According to human-rights
groups, the state of Florida alone is home to more
than 100 torturers and killers from Haiti, Chile,
Honduras, El Salvador, Cuba and elsewhere. Most
are living there legally, often in the same
neighbourhoods as their former victims, and only
recently have a handful begun to face pressure from
immigration authorities.
"The United States still lags far behind other
countries
in recognizing and prosecuting torturers and killers
from other countries,
and in many cases we've welcomed them in and given
them asylum," said
Richard Krieger, a human-rights lawyer with the
Florida-based group
International Educational Missions, which tracks
foreign offenders. "We just
don't have the laws to deal with them."
That problem has become a source of embarrassment to
some U.S.
politicians, who point out that Washington is in the
midst of a massive
deportation program in which thousands of people from
countries
associated with terrorism, such as Iran and Pakistan,
are forced to leave
the United States if they lack proper documentation.
Meanwhile, many
people convicted or accused of atrocities are allowed
to remain.
"There's a very clear line between suspected or even
potential terrorists, on
the one hand, and on the other hand human-rights
abusers," said Vienna
Colucci, an international-justice specialist with
Amnesty International. "A lot
of resources are being devoted to terrorism, and
almost no attention is
being paid to other crimes against humanity -- in
fact, some people now
believe that the case for one diminishes from the
other."
In many cases, these unsavoury figures owe their
peaceful residence in the
United States to deals with U.S. government bodies
such as the Central
Intelligence Agency. Many were arranged during the
Cold War, when they
provided information on regimes or even on their own
crimes in exchange
for immigration clearance.
Groups such as Amnesty fear that similar deals are
being made with
torturers in the current war on terrorism. But in
other cases, such people
are able to enter the United States repeatedly,
despite the fact that U.S.
border officials have a computerized "watch list."
Human-rights groups have
identified 14 known or suspected offenders who have
moved directly to the
United States after having been deported from Canada.
Unlike Ottawa, Washington lacks a law that would force
people who have
committed human-rights abuses or crimes against
humanity to be tried or
deported to their home countries. For several years,
politicians from both
major political parties have tried to pass a bill
known as the Human Rights
Abusers Act or the Anti-Atrocity Bill, which would
make deportations,
extraditions and trials possible. Many observers doubt
that the current
Congress will debate it, because agencies such as the
CIA would prefer to
maintain the ability to offer asylum to useful
sources.
Even in cases in which foreign countries have asked
that suspects be
extradited, the United States has been slow to
respond.
Another Florida resident is Armando Fernandez-Larios,
a former officer in
Augusto Pinochet's Chilean regime who is accused of
tortures and killings
of political opponents after that country's 1973 coup.
When he came to the
United States in 1987, he confessed to having
responsibility for the car
bombing of Chilean foreign minister Orlando Letelier
in Washington in 1976.
In exchange for information, the United States reduced
his sentence to four
months from 13 years and agreed that he could not be
extradited to Chile.
However, he is now wanted for questioning in Argentina
for the 1974
assassination of Chilean General Carlos Prats in
Buenos Aires. Although he
can be extradited legally to Argentina, the U.S.
Immigration and
Naturalization Service has been slow to respond, and
he reportedly is still
living a comfortable life in a Miami suburb. Without
criminal legislation to
help them, some victims have turned to lawsuits. In
the case of Mr.
Fernandez Larios, Mr. Krieger's group has filed a suit
on behalf of people
allegedly killed by the Chilean military.
Free in America
Hundreds of documented torturers, secret-police agents
and foreign
human-rights abusers are believed to be living in the
United States. Some of
the most infamous known cases:
General Guillermo Garcia, South Florida: A former
minister of defence in
El Salvador, where 75,000 people were killed and many
tortured under his
regime.
Emanuel (Toto) Constant, Queens, N.Y.: Was the leader
of the FRAPH
death squad in Haiti, where a court found him guilty
in absentia.
Jamie Ramirez, Hialeah, Fla: A former member of the
Honduran Death
Squad, he is wanted for murder in his home country.
Xingha Tang, San Francisco: Accused of performing
experimental
surgery on Chinese prisoners, he has been granted
asylum.
Didier Cedras, South Florida: A brother and adviser to
Haitian dictator
Raul Cedras, he has been implicated in the deaths of
government
opponents. His immigration status is in limbo.
The Martial Plan
February 21, 2003 - New York Times
By PAUL KRUGMAN
