The Dominican authorities yesterday released the five Haitians suspected of planning a coup against the Aristide government. The five men, among them ex-police chief Guy Philippe and former Haitian ambassador to the DR, Paul Arcelin, were arrested in Dajab?n on Tuesday. Direcci?n Nacional de Investigaciones (DNI), the Dominican version of the FBI, representative Fernando Cruz Mendez told reporters that although no concrete evidence of a conspiracy was found, “we released them with the warning that should they engage in conspiratorial actions, we will hand them over to the Haitian authorities”.
President Jean Bertrand Aristide’s government yesterday condemned the alleged conspiracy following the discovery of several weapons at the Port-au-Prince residence of an opponent of the regime, and an act of sabotage earlier this week at a hydroelectric installation. The Haitian authorities believe that all three incidents are linked.