Haiti Military Plans to Lobby in U.S. : Caribbean: Lt. Gen. Cedras reportedly obtained $500,000 from the Central Bank at a favorable exchange rate for campaign against return of Aristide.

Lt. Gen. Raoul Cedras, the military strongman here, recently obtained $500,000 from the Central Bank at a highly favorable exchange rate to finance a lobbying and publicity campaign in the United States against the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian political and financial experts say.

In what is seen as a sign of his financial independence and his determination to stay in power, Cedras--a leader of the September, 1991, military overthrow of Aristide--brought 500,000 Haitian dollars to the bank late last week and drew $500,000 U.S.

The normal exchange rate, however, is $3 Haitian for $1 U.S., meaning Cedras--if involved in a routine swap--should have received about $167,000 U.S. from the bank, which is so close to being broke that it has been unable to regularly pay government workers.

As a sign of just how severe the dollar shortage is here, private donors had to raise $300,000 so Haitian television could pay to broadcast the World Cup soccer games.

Evans Paul, the pro-Aristide mayor of Port-au-Prince, said he had been told that the money will go to American lobbyists, politicians and journalists to campaign against the return of Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president.

Other business sources confirmed the transaction.

One said of the money’s planned use: Military leaders “already are portraying Aristide as a traitor who is promoting American military intervention. What they want to do now is get their allies in the United States to renew the campaign to show Aristide as unbalanced, untrustworthy, anti-democratic and not worth U.S. intervention. I think you will also begin to hear complaints (from anti-Aristide forces in the United States) that the embargo is only hurting the poor, while Aristide sits in Washington in comfort and criticizes American policy.”

As part of U.S. efforts to turn up the pressure on the Haitian military regime, all passenger air service between the United States and Haiti was cut off Friday, causing jams in airports.

There were Haitians in New York and Miami who were flocking home, laden with food and other necessities and determined to wait out the deepening crisis at home.

Meantime, in Haiti, there were foreigners and Haitians who were trying to flee the Caribbean nation.

Haitians and others can still fly on other routes on non-U.S. carriers--especially Air France--to get around the toughened U.S. sanctions, which also included Wednesday’s blocking of all Haitian-held accounts in U.S. banks worldwide and the freezing of the assets of the Haitian elite in the United States.

Despite the now almost-complete economic embargo against Haiti and a U.S. policy to restore Aristide, the Haitian military has received extensive and high-level support in the United States, including from prominent senators, journalists and political operatives.

Sources said the new U.S. ban on financial transactions presented no obstacle to Cedras, as he seeks to transfer his newly acquired funds to supporters in the United States.

“Cedras simply puts the money in an offshore account in a non-American bank and then moves the funds to the States,” a finance expert said.

Cedras raised the money from other military officers and some civilians who have developed close business relationships with the army since the coup, other sources said.

“This shows that the general and his friends have no intention of giving up,” a Haitian political figure said. And a diplomat added, “If they were going to leave the country, they wouldn’t be using (this money) for an anti-Aristide publicity campaign.”

A financial expert with extensive government experience pointed to the experience of Jean-Claude Duvalier, the last of his family’s dictatorial dynasty, who looted the Central Bank just before he fled the country in February, 1986.

“When he knew he was going to have to leave,” the expert said, “he drew millions from the treasury. He didn’t trust banks and liked to have a stock of money on hand in case anything happened.”

Another signal, according to the sources, was the source of Cedras’ cash.

“He raised the money from other officers and his friends,” one political source said. “That shows he doesn’t need the elite, that he has access to all the money he needs without asking for help.”

The latest U.S. sanctions are aimed at punishing the elite, in the hopes that would force them to demand the expulsion of Cedras and other ranking officers.

But one diplomat said members of the elite have probably already sheltered their assets. “Beyond that,” he predicted, “Haitians won’t blame the military--and, if they do, they are afraid to challenge them. But they will blame the Americans.”