caribbeantoday.com

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - A United States citizen of Arab decent, who has been elected to Haiti’s Senate, now faces dismissal and possible arrest after officials accused him of fraudulently obtaining a Haitian passport and making false statements before election authorities.

Senator Rudolph Boulos, who is a member of one of the country’s wealthiest and most powerful families, was born on April 28, 1951 in Manhattan, New York, United States, according to official documents, copies of which have been obtained by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC). Those documents have also shown that Boulos had been using a U.S. passport lately, confirming that he has U.S. citizenship – which disqualifies him to occupy a seat at the Haitian Senate even as he continues to claim he is Haitian.

“I have never renounced my Haitian nationality. I have been targeted for political reasons, because I stand against a plan uttered by certain authorities to restore a dictatorship in the country,” he said.

‘EVIDENCE’ But Haitian officials maintained Boulos – who is part of a family with a long tradition of doing business in Haiti – is a U.S. citizen and should leave Parliament.

“We have documented evidence that Mr. Boulos is a U.S. citizen. Therefore he is not allowed to seat at the Haitian Senate,” said a high-ranking government official who spoke to CMC on condition of anonymity.

“If Mr. Boulos does not give up the Senate seat he has obtained fraudulently, he runs the risk of being arrested and prosecuted,” the same source told CMC. “He still has time to choose.”

The Haitian constitution provides that any Haitian citizen who has obtained a foreign citizenship loses the Haitian nationality and therefore is banned from running for Parliament and for president.

In a document signed by Boulos before immigration authorities, he admitted that the Haitian passport he obtained in Aug. 31, 2005, was his very first Haitian passport. But Boulos had been living in Washington for years and has gone on numerous trips during the past years. President of the Senate Joseph Lambert said he was expecting official notification from judicial and government authorities before acting and has announced the Senate would launch its own investigation.

“If it is confirmed that Senator Boulos possess a U.S. passport, he will be simply dismissed,” said Lambert, inviting Boulos to voluntarily resign if he really holds a U.S. passport. Boulos traveled to the Dominican Republic on Mar. 15, 2005 with a U.S. passport numbered 701-977-831, while he holds a Haitian passport numbered PP 1260252, according to documents obtained by CMC from government, judicial and electoral sources.