Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2004. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Associated Press - December 1, 2004
It wasn't clear whether Powell was in the palace when people fired shots from a car passing through the Aristide stronghold of Bel Air - several blocks away from the palace, according to Damian Onses Cardona, a spokesman for the U.N. peacekeeping troops.
As soon as the shots were fired, Jordanian police in a U.N. peacekeeping force rushed to the gritty neighborhood off the main square where the palace is located and fired shots in the air. There were no injuries. It was unclear if any one was arrested.
Several U.N. tanks arrived to patrol the road in front of the palace, and Powell's meeting with interim Prime Minister Gerard Latortue and President Boniface Alexandre was moved to another room inside the building.
In Washington, a State Department official said Powell's meetings were shifted to new locations because of the shooting. The official, asking not to be identified, said Powell's schedule of meetings remained unchanged.
Besides Alexandre and Latortue, Powell was seeing leaders from various civil and political groups in Haiti, most of whom opposed Aristide, who was ousted in February.
Powell was instrumental in the removal of Aristide and the installation of a caretaker government that promised a rapid return to true democratic rule.
Powell went to Haiti to reaffirm U.S. support for democracy, review American efforts to help the country overcome recent natural disasters, and commemorate World AIDS Day by meeting with young Haitians who receive and provide HIV/AIDS support services.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the U.S. was making available $46 million to help Haiti overcome damage from recent flooding and hurricanes.
Nearly 2,000 people were killed when Tropical Storm Jeanne plowed through Haiti in September. In May, more than 3,000 people were killed along the Haitian-Dominican border in deadly floods.
The U.S. has also pledged $230 million to assist Haitians in job creation, budget support and other areas, Boucher said.
In the fiscal year that ended in September, the United States committed $20 million to Haiti to support a treatment, care and prevention program for HIV/AIDS. About 5% of the population of 8 million is estimated to be infected with HIV/AIDS, the highest rate in the Western Hemisphere.
Powell announced last month that he would leave his post in President Bush's second term. Bush has nominated White House national security adviser Condoleezza Rice to succeed Powell.
Latortue was placed in charge of the interim Haitian government after bands of rebels and former soldiers launched a three-week rebellion in February that ended with Aristide's ouster and the arrival of a U.S.-led peacekeeping force. The force is now led by Brazil.
Latortue has promised to hold free elections next year, but Aristide's followers and some outside relief and religious groups doubt his sincerity.
The trip was Powell's second to Haiti in eight months. He also visited in April, five weeks after Aristide fled the country amid charges by Aristide and others that the Bush administration coerced him to leave.
Aristide's followers say Powell signed off on a plan to remove Aristide because he was seen as a troublemaker whose unpopularity could destabilize Haiti and cause a tide of refugees heading for U.S. shores.
The administration says Aristide departed voluntarily.
Despite the presence of peacekeeping troops, now under the aegis of the U.N., the rebels and former soldiers have refused to abandon police stations across the country. They have also refused to disarm, saying they need to stabilize Haiti until the government reinstates the military and the police hire more recruits.
The U.S.-backed interim government has accused Aristide of orchestrating recent political violence from exile in South Africa. Aristide has denied supporting violence.
At least 89 people have been killed in politically linked violence since Sept. 30, when pro-Aristide groups stepped up protests demanding his return.
Haiti is the Western Hemisphere's poorest country and most residents get by on less than $1 a day.
The State Department on Tuesday said there were approximately 4,800 U.N. troops and 1,270 U.N. civilian police in Haiti. Three U.S. military personnel and one U.S. Coast Guard official were participating.
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