Cablegate: Tfha01: Haiti Earthquake Task Force Situation Report

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 009667

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA
SUBJECT: TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT
NO. 47

STATE 00009667 001.2 OF 003

VIP TRAVEL
-----------

1. (SBU) Ecuadoran President Correa arrived in Port-au-
Prince January 29. (AFP)

SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR)
-----------------------

2. (SBU) As of January 29, USAID will re-deploy to Haiti a small
rapid-response SAR team comprised of staff from the Los Angeles
and Fairfax County SAR units. (USAID SitRep #32)

COMMODITY FLOW
--------------

3. (SBU) WFP has indentified 15 food distribution sites in and
around Port-au-Prince. Some were in operation as of January 30,
with the full 15 expected to open February 1. (TF1/Interagency
Conference Call)

4. (SBU) The UN has indicated its willingness to provide a
security escort for the transfer of $20 million cash held by
HSBC to the Central Bank of Haiti. (TF1/Interagency Conference
Call)

EVACUATIONS/AMERICAN CITIZEN AND LE STAFF WHEREABOUTS
--------------------------------------------- --------

5. (SBU) As of 1400 EST January 29, 128 American evacuees and
family members departed Port-au-Prince; a total of 13,525 have
been evacuated to date. There are 350 Americans and family
members inside the Embassy and 50 individuals, mostly local
nationals, outside the Embassy. A total of 21,400 potential
evacuees have been accounted for. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince
e-mail)

6. (SBU) There are 74 confirmed American fatalities and another
20 reported. (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail)

7. (SBU) There are no updates on LE Staff whereabouts.
(TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince e-mail)

8. (SBU) On January 29, Prime Minister Bellerive signed the
authorization letters for 121 orphans to travel to the United
States. Included in this group were authorization letters for
orphans whose cases were being closely followed by the office of
Sen. Hatch (R-UT). (TF1/Embassy Port-au-Prince telcon)

9. (SBU) American citizens will no longer be evacuated to
Homestead AFB; they will be routed to Orlando. (TF1/SOUTHCOM e-
mail)

MEDICAL RESPONSE
-----------------

10. (U) No updates at this time.

INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION/REQUESTS
------------------------------------

11. (SBU) The Colombian Red Cross has raised $1.25 million for
the relief effort. (TF1/WHA e-mail)

DEPLOYMENT OF U.S. GOVERNMENT ASSETS
-------------------------------------

12. (SBU) No updates at this time.

HUMANITARIAN/SECURITY/INFRASTRUCTURE
------------------------------------

13. (SBU) At 1309 EST, a U.S. soldier fired a one-round warning
shot to disperse looters attacking a fellow soldier. UN and
Haitian police arrived and arrested the looters. There were no
casualties as a result of the soldier's actions. (TF1/SOUTHCOM
e-mail)

14. (SBU) SOUTHCOM and Embassy Port-au-Prince will tour northern
Haiti January 29 to view the coastline and assess any migratory
activity. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call)

15. (SBU) Ministry of Justice officials told Embassy Port-au-
Prince their priority is getting prisons operational, so they
can proceed with arresting escaped prisoners whose locations are
known. A DOS-led assessment team is currently evaluating five
major prisons. (TF1/Interagency Conference Call)

16. (SBU) Canadian Embassy contacts in Port-au-Prince report
verbal orders were allegedly given by police leadership to shoot
escaped prisoners on sight. UN Civilian Police officers close
to prison authorities also heard unconfirmed reports of extra-
judicial killings by police. (Port-au-Prince 102)

17. (SBU) According to the World Bank, human capacity within the
GOH has suffered, particularly at the mid- and senior-
managerial levels, due to deaths and absences since the
earthquake. Manpower shortages have been especially
debilitating in the financial sector, where banks are in not
operating at capacity. (Port-au-Prince 102)

18. (SBU) The City and State of New York will open a service
center in Brooklyn to assist victims of the Haiti earthquake
February 1. Representatives from multiple USG agencies will be
on-hand to assist. (TF1/CA e-mail)

POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
----------------------

19. (SBU) President Preval publicly announced he will not seek
to extend his presidency beyond the end of his term in February
2011. He did not specify when parliamentary and presidential
elections would be held. The public announcement was his first
on local radio since the quake. (Port-au-Prince 102)

20. (SBU) The Embassy reports small demonstrations against
Preval and in support of the U.S. presence in Haiti, including
motorcycle taxis carrying U.S. flags. (Port-au-Prince 102)

21. (U) At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
UNESCO called for a ban on the trade of Haitian artifacts to
prevent the pillaging of cultural treasures. (AP)

22. Additional updates are available through our classified
Intellipedia portal at
http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Cris is_HAITI.

23. (U) Minimize considered.
CLINTON

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