Ex-coup leader, DEA fugitive wins Haitian Senate seat

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) - A former Haitian coup leader wanted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration for alleged cocaine trafficking and money laundering has won election to Haiti’s Senate, according to preliminary results released by the electoral council.

Guy Philippe defeated all other candidates in the second round of elections, held on Nov. 20, for the southwestern Grand Anse region, which is still recovering from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Matthew.

“Victory, thank you Grand Anse,” said a message posted on Philippe’s Facebook page late on Sunday. “My fellow compatriots, together we will accomplish and live a patriotic act of faith.”

In Haiti, losing candidates have a period in which to file complaints about the results. If Philippe’s win stands, he would take office early next year for a six-year term.

In 2004, the former police officer, who Human Rights Watch said had overseen extrajudicial killings, was a prominent figure in a coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

His election underscores political turmoil in impoverished Haiti, which is still struggling to establish democratic institutions more than 20 years after it threw off a dictatorship.