On Feb. 5 Puerto Rican independence activist Avelino González Claudio, a suspected leader of the rebel Popular Boricua Army (EPB)-Macheteros, pleaded guilty in US District Court in Hartford, Conn., to charges in the 1983 armed robbery of $7.1 million from a Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, one of the largest robberies in US history. González Claudio, arrested in Puerto Rico in 2008 after 22 years in hiding, was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and transportation of stolen money out of the country, allegedly to finance Machetero activities. According to US intelligence, most of the money ended up in Cuba.

Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive, at a meeting on earthquake recovery aid in Ottawa, played down reports of growing violence in ravaged Port-au-Prince. "There is a lot of talk about violence, it's not true in Haiti," he said, insisting that the city is calm. "I am extremely impressed as prime minister by the resilience of people." (Bloomberg, Jan. 24) The following day, 15-year-old Fabienne Cherisma was shot dead when police opened fire on looters in Port-au-Prince. (The Guardian, Jan. 26) The day after that, Uruguayan UN peacekeepers fired rubber bullets while attempting to contain a thousands-strong mass of desperately hungry Haitians who had mobbed a food distribution point. Asked by a reporter why the peacekeepers weren't giving instructions to the crowd in French or Creole, one shot back in Spanish, "Whatever we do, it doesn't matter—they are animals." (Herald Sun, Australia, Jan. 26)

PORT-AU-PRINCE — More than 100 people were pressed against the iron gates of the mayor's office in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Petionville. "When will we get that food?" voices called out to the mayor, Claire Lydia Parent, who stood behind the closed gates. The problem Parent faced was how to explain to the frustrated crowd that the food they just saw being delivered on Jan. 23 was intended for a neighboring community.

Ethan Bronner in the New York Times took note Jan. 21 of the controversy surrounding Israel's high-profile rescue mission to Haiti in a story entitled "For Israelis, Mixed Feelings on Aid Effort." But the statements quoted are pretty tame compared to much of what is buzzing around the blogosphere. There is certainly something fundamentally perverse about the Israeli Defense Forces establishing a field hospital in Port-au-Prince as their blockade of the Gaza Strip is actively creating an ongoing humanitarian crisis. Commentators within Israel have made the point repeatedly. "Israel's compassion in Haiti can't hide our ugly face in Gaza," wrote Akiva Eldar in Haaretz Jan. 18. Paul Woodward on the War in Context website Jan. 23 notes a piece in the Israeli daily Maariv entitled "The painful truth: Haiti's disaster is good for the Jews." Blogger Richard Silverstein Jan. 19 noted a piece in Israel's Yediot by Yoel Donchin, a doctor who is himself a veteran of Israeli international disaster response teams—who accuses Israel of "Public Relations instead of saving lives." Donchin actually blasts the IDF field hospital as a scam, saying that "sending portable toilets to Haiti would have been a better option, but this does not provide good photo opportunities."

US Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Jan. 22 that undocumented Haitians who arrived after last week's earthquake will be sent back to Haiti. While removal of undocumented Haitians already in the US before the earthquake has been put on hold, Napolitano told a news conference that Haitians should not view the earthquake as an open opportunity to migrate to the US, but remain in their country to help rebuild. She stated that "attempting to leave Haiti now will only bring more hardship to the Haitian people and nation." (Jurist, Jan. 22)

The US is sending another 4,000 sailors and marines to Haiti for the earthquake relief mission, diverting them from deployments in the Persian Gulf and elsewhere. The 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit and three-ship USS Nassau Amphibious Ready Group would "significantly" increase the ability to quickly provide aid, the Navy said. The move will increase the number of US troops involved to about 16,000. (BBC News, Jan. 20)

David L. Wilson of Weekly News Update on the Americas was in Port-au-Prince with a delegation when the Jan. 12 earthquake struck the city. Because of limited electricity and internet access, he was unable to send this report out until after he got back to New York the morning of Jan. 18.:

PORT-AU-PRINCE — Wednesday night, January 13, the second night after a giant earthquake shattered this city, was filled with strange sounds.

From Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Jan. 19:

Port-au-Prince – A Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) cargo plane carrying 12 tons of medical equipment, including drugs, surgical supplies and two dialysis machines, was turned away three times from Port-au-Prince airport since Sunday night despite repeated assurances of its ability to land there. This 12-ton cargo was part of the contents of an earlier plane carrying a total of 40 tons of supplies that was blocked from landing on Sunday morning. Since January 14, MSF has had five planes diverted from the original destination of Port-au-Prince to the Dominican Republic. These planes carried a total of 85 tons of medical and relief supplies.