Honduran Judge Refuses to Extradite Michel François to the United States

April 21,1997 -- The National Coalition for Haitian Rights deplores the decision not to extradite former Haitian police chief Joseph Michel François from Honduras to the United States. Marco Tulio Alvarado, a judge on the Honduran Supreme Court issued a decision on April 16, 1997 finding that the U.S. Justice Department had not provided credible evidence supporting the petition to extradite François to Florida for trial.

William G. O'Neill, a legal consultant to NCHR, stated: "The 41-page indictment issued by the Grand Jury contains a wealth of information specifically linking François to a drug-trafficking enterprise. Judge Alvarado's decision is astounding and deeply disappointing and we urge the US government to appeal the decision and continue to pursue vigorously François's extradition to the United States."

François was the feared head of the Port-au-Prince police and the principal creator of network of paramilitary thugs known as "attaches" who terrorized Haitians throughout the three-year military dictatorship (1991-94). Fuelled by money generated from drug-trafficking and his control of other commodities (cement, flour and cooking oil), François, who held the rank of sergeant and received a pittance in military salary, was able to control vast amounts of money and buy loyalty and power.

The indictment shows François as being at the center of a drug trafficking network that was initiated and controlled by Colombian narco-traffickers. Haiti was an important trans-shipment point on the route from Colombia to the US. The indictment describes dozens of transactions and shipments of cocaine and heroin and alleges that François and his co-conspirators were also involved in money laundering and bribery. One particularly damaging allegation asserts that "on or about June 7, 1994, Joseph Michel François and other coconspirators caused to be delivered to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Nassau, Bahamas approximately one-half (1/2) kilogram of heroin for ultimate distribution in the United States."

NCHR's O'Neill also noted that "trying François in a US court might also uncover information on his exact role in the massive human rights violations committed by military and para-military personnel under his command. Haitian criminal investigators and courts are simply not up to this complex and sensitive task yet, so a vigorous prosecution in US courts could help further the cause of justice in Haiti and is yet another compelling reason to exhaust every channel in seeking François's extradition."