The World : Indicted Haiti Colonel Dies

Retired Col. Jean-Claude Paul, who had commanded Haiti’s most feared army unit and had been indicted in Miami on drug charges, has died of a heart attack, Haitian radio reported. Paul, 49, died about 3 p.m. in his home in suburban La Boule, Radio Haiti-Inter said, without giving further details. However, a family friend said there was speculation that Paul was poisoned. Paul had been retired in September after a coup put Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril in power. Soldiers from Paul’s powerful 700-member Dessalines Battalion have been blamed for widespread violence that forced the cancellation of general elections last November and left more than 30 dead. He also had been linked to the Tontons Macoutes, the dreaded secret police.