Political Breach Disrupts Haiti

Less than three years after the United States sent troops here to restore democracy, a bitter and widening dispute between supporters of the country’s two most powerful political leaders has broken apart the ruling coalition and brought the Haitian government to a virtual standstill.

The rift between former President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and the government of his hand-picked successor, Rene Preval, has provoked economic and political instability and a mounting sense of concern among political leaders and diplomats here. The breach became formal when Aristide shifted his allegiance to a new political party, Fami Lavalas, while many officials elected under Aristide’s banner have stayed in the original Lavalas Political Organization, which is rallying around Preval.

Over the last six weeks, more than 50 people have been killed in unexplained attacks, including six police officers, a Senator’s bodyguard and the Justice Ministry’s chief of security.