"We are taking control," said Guy Philippe, the rebel leader and main spokesman.

Indeed, he played a key role in the 2004 Haitian rebellion with Guy Philippe.

A rebel leader, Guy Philippe, told reporters that his plan was not to attack the capital immediately but rather to put it under siege.

"I am the chief," the rebel leader, Guy Philippe, declared at a news conference, "the military chief."

Guy Philippe, a former police chief whom the government accused of trying to overthrow it in 2002, is also on the ground near Gonaïves, he said.

"I don't care what they said about me," said Guy Philippe, the former police chief.

"We knew who Guy Philippe was and that he had a criminal background."

Guy Philippe (born February 29, 1968) is a Haitian politician.

A former paramilitary leader of the 2004 Haitian coup d'état, Guy Philippe, is also wanted on drug charges.

Dominican officials have said they will deport Guy Philippe, the police official, to a third country rather than hand him over to Haiti.