MIAMI _ Former Haiti coup leader Guy Philippe who is wanted on drug charges in the United States was arrested Thursday in Haiti, a top Haitian National Police official confirmed to the Miami Herald.
Philippe, who is wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration under a long-standing sealed indictment on drug trafficking charges, was arrested after he left a local radio station, local media reported. Earlier in the day, before the radio interview, Philippe, who was just elected to a six-year term in the Haitian parliament as a senator, had picked up his legislative certificate.
A Miami defense attorney who has been representing Philippe confirmed that he is being held by the Haitian National Police.
"I have been informed that he's in custody," attorney Richard Dansoh told the Miami Herald. "It appears the arrest is legitimate. ... He has some real defenses," including possibly sovereign immunity from being prosecuted.
Both the U.S. attorney's office and the DEA in Miami declined to comment.
Philippe's arrest comes four days before the newly elected lawmaker and others are to be sworn in. As a senator, Philippe would have been entitled to immunity from arrest or prosecution during his term in office.
Philippe has long proven elusive to both Haitian and U.S. authorities. Several attempts to arrest him over the years have failed, including a recent effort by Haiti National Police after he was accused of being involved in an attack on the police headquarters in the southern Haitian city of Les Cayes. At least six people were killed in the attack. An arrest warrant was issued for him after the attack.
The DEA, meanwhile, is accusing him of conspiracy to import cocaine and money laundering. He has denied the U.S. allegations against him and said that it has no jurisdiction to arrest him.
"I am pleased to see that the Haitian National Police has carried out its legal responsibility to arrest those who have outstanding criminal warrants against them," said Mark Schneider, a senior adviser with the International Crisis Group.
"In this case, it's obviously a last minute effort that prevents Guy Philippe from acquiring immunity from prosecution. One would expect that the pending cases against him both in Haiti _ and presumably in the United States _ would now take normal course through the criminal courts."
A former top Haitian police official, Philippe in 2004 led the coup d'etat against then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Human Rights Watch had accused him of overseeing unlawful killings.
