Ex-Army Colonel Killed in Haiti

A former Haitian army colonel who was expected to head a controversial government post that oversees the police was killed by gunmen in Port-au-Prince, local radio stations reported Saturday.

Former Col. Jean Lamy was shot several times in the head Friday evening while driving down Lalue Street, a major thoroughfare in Port-au-Prince, the capital.

Lamy, a close friend of former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and of President Rene Preval, was rushed to the State University of Haiti hospital, where he died shortly afterward.

There were no reports of any arrests.

Preval, his wife, Guerda, Police Chief Pierre Denize and former army Maj. Dany Toussaint went to the hospital, according to Radio Vision 2000.

Lamy had been expected to replace Robert Manuel as secretary of state for public security, a post that oversees Haiti’s police.

The former colonel, a consultant to Haiti’s national police force, was assassinated the same day that Manuel’s resignation became public in Haiti.

Lamy belonged to a group of former soldiers from Haiti’s dismantled army loyal to Aristide.

Lavalas Family, a political party founded by Aristide, launched a series of violent protests in April and May calling on Manuel and Denize to step down.

Protesters claimed that Manuel and Denize were not doing enough to stop rising crime in the country.

Critics said Lavalas Family wanted to gain control of Haiti’s 4-year-old police force by replacing the leadership with Aristide supporters.

Aristide, a former charismatic priest, was overthrown by the army in 1991 and was returned to power by a U.S.-led invasion of 20,000 troops in 1994.

Aristide dissolved the army just before he left the presidency in February 1996.