U.S. choppers land troops in heart of Haiti capital

PORT-AU-PRINCE, (Reuters) – U.S. Black Hawk  helicopters landed American paratroopers at the wrecked  presidential palace in the heart of earthquake-shattered  Port-au-Prince today in a show of military force  supporting a massive multinational relief operation.
It was one of the most visible and potentially sensitive  deployments in Haiti so far by the U.S. military, which is  spearheading international aid efforts to assist millions of  Haitians left injured or homeless by the devastating earthquake  a week ago.
In the grounds of the once-elegant but now caved-in  presidential palace, some 20 Black Hawk helicopters, landing in  relay, disgorged 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers in full  combat gear. They then began unloading equipment, supplies,  boxes of water bottles and food rations.
At least one Latin American leader, Venezuela’s socialist  President Hugo Chavez, who is a fiery critic of what he calls  U.S. “imperialism”, has already accused Washington of  “occupying” Haiti under the pretext of an aid operation.
On several occasions in Haiti’s turbulent history, U.S.  Marines have intervened in the Caribbean state — the poorest  in the Western Hemisphere.
But U.S. commanders of the Haiti relief operation have been  at pains to stress that their deployment is humanitarian and  has the full backing of Haitian President Rene Preval, whose  administration was crippled by the quake.
The U.S. airborne troops, their automatic rifles slung over  their shoulders but with the barrels carefully pointed  downwards to indicate no hostility, marched to Port-au-Prince’s  nearby General Hospital, apparently with a mission to protect  international medical teams who are racing against time to tend  seriously injured quake victims.
Hundreds of Haitian earthquake survivors, who had been  sheltering in an improvised makeshift camp near the  presidential palace, rushed up to the iron railings in front of  the building, peering through and awaiting aid handouts.
With comments of “Great!” and “Here they come!”, the crowd  generally welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops. Some called  on the U.S. paratroopers to deal with looters and criminals who  have been preying on wrecked neighborhoods since the quake.
Others screamed angrily. “Where’s the help, where’s the  help? We have received nothing yet.”
But many seemed relieved to see the American troops.
“We do not know exactly what they have come to do but I  think they are here to help us, so we tell them welcome,” one  observer, Alex Michel, 40, told Reuters.
“We would not wish to see foreign military disembarking in  our country but given the terrible situation we are in, their  presence is necessary,” said Moline Augustin, also watching  outside the palace.
More than 11,000 U.S. military personnel are on the ground  in Haiti, on ships offshore or en route. This includes Marines  and troops from the 82nd Airborne.
U.S. officers say that the Americans’ main mission is  humanitarian, to participate in and help protect a huge  international aid distribution operation for earthquake  victims. But they add they will also be ready to boost security  in Port-au-Prince if necessary.
Since the quake a week ago, looters and scavengers have  swarmed over wrecked shops and businesses in downtown parts of  the capital, carrying off what they can find and fighting among  themselves. Some have been shot dead by Haitian police.
Port-au-Prince’s once elegant presidential palace was badly  damaged in the Jan. 12 quake, which authorities estimate may  have killed up to 200,000 people, and Haitian President Rene  Preval has been running his government out of a police station  near the airport.