A package of news briefs from the Caribbean

GUANTANAMO: Gitmo chief: Al-Jazeera cameraman reportedly on hunger strike has gained weight

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ The commander of detention operations at Guantanamo Bay denied reports that the physical and mental health of a detained Al-Jazeera cameraman is deteriorating.

A defense attorney earlier this week said Sami al-Hajj, one of the highest-profile detainees at the U.S. naval base in southeastern Cuba, has deteriorated sharply in recent months, losing 40 pounds (18 kilograms) since late last year and developing intestinal problems. Al-Hajj has been on hunger strike, lawyer Clive Stafford Smith said.

But in an e-mail sent late Friday to The Associated Press, U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark H. Buzby said al-Hajj is actually 20 pounds (9 kilograms) heavier than when he arrived at the U.S. military prison in June 2002.

"Contrary to allegations, there have been no indications that he developed intestinal problems and no indications that his mental health has recently deteriorated," Buzby said.

Buzby insisted al-Hajj is currently at "102 percent of his ideal body weight" and is seen by medical personnel daily at Guantanamo Bay, where the U.S. holds about 355 men on suspicion of terrorism or links to al-Qaida or the Taliban.

Al-Hajj was first reported to be on hunger strike in early January by his network's Arabic-language Web site, which said he may be suffering from various health problems. Buzby did not disclose al-Hajj's weight or confirm that he is one of the hunger strikers.

Long-term hunger strikers are force-fed by the military. In recent months, the number of hunger strikers at Guantanamo has grown to about two dozen.

PUERTO RICO: Call at National Guard conference for U.S. withdrawal from Iraq greeted with standing ovation

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ A call by Puerto Rico's governor for a U.S. withdrawal from Iraq earned a standing ovation from a conference of more than 4,000 National Guardsmen.

Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila said Saturday that the U.S. administration has "no new strategy and no signs of success" and that prolonging the war would needlessly put guardsmen in harm's way.

"The war in Iraq has fractured the political will of the United States and the world," he said at the opening of the 129th National Guard Association general conference. "Clearly, a new war strategy is required and urgently."

Acevedo said sending more troops to Iraq would be a costly blunder.

"By increasing the number of National Guard and reserve troops, we put our soldiers in danger for the umpteenth time since the beginning of the global war on terrorism," said the governor, adding U.S. territories and states need Guard reserves in the event of natural disasters and domestic disturbances.

Acevedo, a Democrat, has called on Washington to withdraw troops from Iraq in the past, but has not been a vocal critic of the war.

Col. David Carrion Baralt, the Guard's top official in the U.S. Caribbean territory, said Acevedo received a standing ovation.

"Maybe the (officers) were not expecting those kinds of comments, but having a dialogue is the point of conferences like these," Carrion said by phone.

The nonpartisan National Guard Association represents nearly 45,000 current and former Air and Army National Guard officers and petitions Congress for resources.

GUYANA: Authorities scour nation's second-largest city for 15 escaped prisoners

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) _ Soldiers and police were combing alleys and abandoned buildings in Guyana's second-largest city for 15 prisoners who broke out of a maximum-security jail.

Eighteen inmates awaiting trial fled the compound in New Amsterdam on Saturday by jumping over a corroded galvanized fence, police commander Steven Jarvis said. Three were recaptured in abandoned buildings in the eastern city.

Officers and soldiers were fanning out to prevent the inmates from crossing the nearby Berbice River to a main road that has frequent bus service to the capital of Georgetown, Jarvis said.

"We believe we have them cornered. We believe we are going to recapture most," he said.

The breakout is the latest in a series of major escapes that have bedeviled Guyanese correctional officers in recent years.

In January, nine prisoners armed with machetes and sharpened objects broke out of a maximum-security compound in Guyana's western region by overpowering guards. It was the fourth major escape from the prison in a decade.

The Caribbean nation of about 767,000 people is on the north shoulder of South America.

PUERTO RICO: Rights commission to hold hearings for islanders who claim police planted drugs

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) _ Puerto Rico's civil rights commission plans to hold hearings for public housing residents after 10 officers were arrested for allegedly planting drugs as fraudulent evidence against low-income islanders.

The commission's director, Lorenzo Villalba, said more allegations of police corruption could arise during the hearings next month in the western city of Mayaguez and the San Juan metropolitan area, where there have been numerous complaints of officers faking evidence.

"We are going to listen to the complaints of the neighbors and community groups about incidents that have been reported concerning police brutality and fraudulent evidence," Villalba said Saturday.

On Thursday, the FBI arrested eight police officers accused of planting drugs as manufactured evidence against residents of housing projects in Mayaguez. A raid on the officers' precinct discovered a safe holding drugs that were kept in reserve to frame people, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said.

Two other Mayaguez officers indicted by a federal grand jury turned themselves in Friday.

The 10 officers are accused of allegedly using marijuana, cocaine and heroin to frame residents of housing projects between 2004 and 2007. They also made up elaborate details on arrest and search warrants, Rodriguez said. If convicted, they face 10 years to life in prison.

Chief prosecutor Jose Delgado has told The Associated Press that reviewing the accused officers' past arrests will be a "titanic job" because each worked more than 200 cases a year.

JAMAICA: Air Jamaica to add 30 planes to fleet over next 5 years

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) _ Air Jamaica plans to buy as many as 30 aircraft over the next five years to help the state-owned carrier achieve profitability, the government said Saturday.

The purchases would dramatically increase the size of Air Jamaica's fleet, currently just 17 planes.

"We are very active in securing acquisitions," airline CEO Mike Conway said in a statement.

The Jamaican government took over the troubled airline in 2004 and launched a restructuring, but the carrier has continued to eliminate routes and lay off workers as it struggles to turn a profit.

In late May, Conway said the sale of its London-Kingston route to Virgin Atlantic would help Air Jamaica get out of the red by 2009.