Haitian ex-president Jean Bertrand Aristide arrived in Jamaica, provoking the ire of authorities in Haiti who froze ties with the neighboring nation and warned the visit could fuel violence in Port-au-Prince, where US forces suffered their first casualty overnight. Jamaican authorities declined to say where Aristide and his wife Mildred went after landing at Kingston's Norman Manley international airport following their flight from the Central African Republic. As the plane was landing in Jamaica, where the Aristides' two daughters currently live, Haitian prime minister Gerard Latortue announced in Port-au-Prince he had suspended relations with Jamaica. "I am immediately recalling the ambassador and we are freezing our relations with Jamaica," Latortue said at a news conference. He also said he would reconsider Haiti's relationship with the Caribbean Community (Caricom) group, which is currently headed by Jamaican Prime Minister Percival Patterson. The visit has infuriated Haitian authorities who fear Aristide's return to the Caribbean region, just 200 kilometers from his homeland, could lead to renewed violence in Haiti. Aristide has insisted he remains the constitutional president of Haiti and claimed that the United States and France kidnapped him and forced him to fly to Bangui. His February 29 resignation and flight to Africa led to a surge of violence in Port-au-Prince, where his hardcore supporters went on a rampage of shooting and looting. The worst of the violence has since subsided, but US troops, who deployed within hours of Aristide's departure have come under fire on several occasions and announced their first casualty on Monday. A US Marine was shot in the arm Sunday night in the predominantly pro-Aristide Bel Air slum where at least two people were killed last week in a firefight with American troops. The new commander of the 2,700-strong multinational force in Haiti, made it clear Monday his troops would get tough with gunmen. "Make no mistake, my Marines will not idly stand by as thugs and rebels kill and maim innocent civilians," Brigadier General Ronald Coleman said at a ceremony at which he took command of the multinational force. Coleman told journalists the troops, who currently conduct comparatively small "presence patrols" in the violence-torn capital, will become more visible. "In the near future you will see more forces of the multinational force out and about," he said. The force will also spread out across the country, which within 10 days will be divided in four sectors, with the US, French, Chilean and Canadian troops each controling one zone, according to French military spokesman Xavier Pons. Latortue and interim president Boniface Alexandre both thanked the soldiers for helping restore stability to Haiti. "Haiti will be forever grateful for the help you are giving us in this difficult transition," Alexandre said during the open-air ceremony at a university campus that serves as headquarters for the force. Latortue, for his part, pledged that the government he plans to announce Tuesday would devote itself to restoring democracy to the impoverished country, which has been rocked by a deep political crisis since fraudulent elections in 2000. "The government I will head will do its utmost to plant the seeds, to establish the foundations of democracy so that it will germinate and grow and become strong," he said. Latortue also said the new government would be ready by Tuesday evening. "It is a firm date, so that the cabinet can be sworn in Wednesday at the latest," he told a local radio station. But he said discussions on the make-up of the government were still underway. "There is nothing definite ... we are discussing the resumes, the honesty, the competence, the democratic commitment of every candidate." Over the past days, Latortue, a longtime UN diplomat who was briefly foreign minister in 1988, has held meetings with political party representatives, including members of Aristide's Lavalas party. He has stressed the need for reconciliation and said he planned to form a government of national unity. In another development, the new UN special envoy for Haiti, Reginald Dumas, arrived in the troubled Caribbean nation on Monday, according to a United Nations spokeswoman. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Exiled Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide looks out a jet window while en route to Jamaica, March 15, 2004. (REUTERS/Amy Goodman/Democracy Now)