Cablegate: Tfha01: Haiti Earthquake Task Force Situation Report

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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 017901

SIPDIS, SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AEMR ASEC CASC KFLO MARR PREL PINR AMGT HA
SUBJECT: TFHA01: HAITI EARTHQUAKE TASK FORCE SITUATION REPORT
NO. 80

STATE 00017901 001.2 OF 002

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

1. (SBU) Under a new government regulation, a relief
organization must first be registered in order to qualify for
a duty exemption. Organizations unwilling to wait have paid
large duties for the release of their goods. Relief workers
argue the new process is delaying aid distribution and the
government is attempting to profit from relief efforts. (DHS
NOC Report)

2. (SBU) JTF-Haiti engineers are conducting home structural
integrity training for UN and Haitian engineers. The training
will increase the number of personnel qualified to provide
safety assessments on Haitian families' homes to determine if
they can return. (JTF Haiti Sitrep)

3. (SBU) The UN and partners reported vaccinating nearly
63,000 residents of spontaneous settlements between February
16 and 22, representing 10 percent of the targeted population.
The government and NGOs are training additional staff to
support the vaccination campaign. (DHS NOC Report)

4. (U) China announced it would provide tents worth $2.92
million in additional aid to Haiti. (xinhuanet.com)

5. (U) Chilean President Bachelet said the 12-member Union of
South American Nations is committed to providing $100 million
in aid for Haiti. (AP)

6. (SBU) President Lula of Brazil will travel to Haiti to
propose funding a hydroelectric power plant. (DHS NOC Update
Report 85)

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

7. (SBU) MINUSTAH is optimistic for political stability in the
short term, with President Preval receiving support from the
majority of the Senate, and with opposition in the lower
chamber too indifferent or disorganized to organize a
challenge. In coming months Preval will need to ensure
Haitian quake victims continue to see aid as impartial, fair,
and administered both by the international community and the
government in a transparent way. (Port-au-Prince 196)

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
------------------

8. (SBU) A four-person team of U.S. Geological Survey and
University of Texas scientists will launch a study of seismic
hazards in Haiti. The team anticipates the release of the
assessment's initial results by mid-March. (USAID Sitrep #63)

9. (SBU) 194 Haitians were repatriated to Cap Haitien from
Cuba February 24. They were headed to the United States but
instead landed in Cuba where they were sent to a transit camp.
The migrants were offered the choice of staying in Cuba, but

STATE 00017901 002.2 OF 002

decided to return to Haiti. (SOUTHCOM Sitrep)

10. (U) Additional updates are available through our
Intellipedia portal on the unclassified system at:
http://www.intelink.gov/wiki/Portal:Crisis_Ha iti_Earthquake.

11. (U) Minimize considered.
CLINTON

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