Latortue praises Haiti gunmen who started uprising

About 3,000 people cheered and clapped for Latortue, who held his first rally in his hometown of Gonaives, where the death of street gang leader Amiot Metayer sparked the rebellion that drove out Aristide last month.

"I ask you for a moment of silence for all the people who fell fighting against the dictatorship, and especially for Amiot Metayer," Latortue said as the crowd went wild.

Sharing the platform with rebels and dignitaries, Latortue also praised those who died fighting to oust Aristide. More than 300 people died, including dozens of police defending Aristide's government.

Metayer's Cannibal Army gang ran the docks at Gonaives and was said to control drug-trafficking through the port. The gang was believed to have been armed by Aristide to terrorize his opponents.

Aristide had Metayer arrested last year after months of pressure from the Organization of American States, which demanded he be tried for allegedly burning homes of opponents.

Gang members rammed a tractor into the prison to free him in September, and Metayer's bullet-riddled and mutilated body was found days later.

"They took out his eyes. They took out his heart," Latortue said of Metayer.

Latortue told the crowd that the government would ensure clean drinking water in Gonaives, provide medical equipment and build at least 100 homes and a four-lane highway to replace the potholed two lanes that are Haiti's main south-north highway.

People shouted they also needed working telephones and electricity.

Latortue urged patience: "I cannot give you everything at once and I will not lie to you."
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