Coup chief Guy Philippe repatriated to Haiti as many query his subsequent function in nation in upheaval

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Notorious coup chief Guy Philippe returned to Haiti on Thursday after the U.S. authorities repatriated him, sparking considerations that his presence may unleash additional upheaval in a rustic already reeling from gang violence and political instability.

It wasn’t clear what function, if any, Philippe anticipated to play upon his return to Haiti, which is below siege by gangs that grew extraordinarily highly effective within the political vacuum created by the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse.

“One would have to wait and see what his return means, if anything at all,” Alex Dupuy, a Haiti-born sociologist and former professor at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, stated in an interview. “He’s not going to be necessarily the principal actor in the drama that’s going on in Haiti and the awful political situation.”

Philippe‘s attorney, Jean Joseph Louicher, confirmed to The Associated Press that Philippe arrived in the capital of Port-au-Prince on Thursday morning. Philippe could not be immediately reached for comment.

Philippe once served as police chief for the northern coastal city of Cap-Haitien and was later accused of masterminding attacks on police stations and other targets while in exile in the Dominican Republic.

He returned to Haiti in 2004 and led a band of rebels that captured Cap-Haitien as he joined an uprising that led to the ouster of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

Philippe was arrested in Haiti in January 2017 while participating in a live radio talk show. He had recently been elected to Haiti’s Senate, and authorities whisked him rapidly to the airport to keep away from potential riots protesting his extradition to the U.S.

The former insurgent chief was nabbed after years of efficiently eluding arrest and failed raids on his distant residence in Haiti’s western coastal area that concerned U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration brokers and helicopters.

In a 2016 interview with The Associated Press at his stronghold in Pestel, Philippe stated he was harmless of any crimes and that he would struggle any regulation enforcement that attempted to seize him.

Shortly after his 2017 arrest, Philippe appeared earlier than a federal choose in Miami to face decade-old U.S. drug expenses together with cocaine trafficking conspiracy and cash laundering.

In June 2017, he was sentenced to 9 years in jail after pleading responsible to a cash laundering cost.

Authorities stated that Philippe, a former high-ranking official with Haiti’s National Police, had used his place to offer safety for drug shipments in alternate for money. Officials stated he acknowledged receiving as much as $3.5 million in bribes.

Philippe was launched from jail on Sept. 7, in line with courtroom paperwork. In the weeks that adopted, Haitians in and close to his former stronghold organized protests, blocked roads and demanded that the government present Philippe journey paperwork so he may return to his native nation.

Philippe‘s supporters additionally embody former Haitian President Michel Martelly, who remains to be thought of a robust, behind-the-scenes political participant.

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Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Associated Press videographer Pierre-Richard Luxama in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Associated Press reporters Eric Tucker and Rebecca Santana in Washington D.C. contributed.