CRISIS IN THE CARIBBEAN : 262 Caribbean Troops Arrive

The first significant wave of international peacekeepers landed in Haiti on Monday in a mission to supplement and eventually replace some of the 21,000 American soldiers.

Lt. Gen. Hugh Shelton, commander of U.S. forces here, said the soldiers from several Caribbean nations will allow the Americans to trim their troop strength to 15,000 in the next few months.

Three flights carrying the Caribbean troops touched down at the U.S.-controlled Port-au-Prince international airport.

The 262 soldiers had been training with U.S. troops at Camp Santiago, Puerto Rico, on firearms usage, first aid and international standards for civil rights. They are from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

“With our presence here today, we have demonstrated total commitment . . . to restoring democracy in Haiti,” Col. Linton Graham of Jamaica, commander of the contingent, said at the airport.

The soldiers will help maintain order during Haiti’s transition from military to civilian rule. Part of their mission will be guarding the capital’s seaport, where supplies enter Haiti, said a U.S. military spokesman, Army Capt. Derik Crotts.