Bertin, 35, was among more than 100 people on a hit list discovered by the U.S. government days before the slaying. An expert in international law, she made many enemies with her outspoken support for those who ousted Aristide in a September 1991 coup.
Six people were arrested before her death on suspicion of plotting political killings. Diplomats said one of the suspects said he was hired by Interior Minister Mondesir Beaubrun, a conservative former army general whom the United States pressured Aristide to include in his cabinet.
The funeral at a Roman Catholic Church drew a crowd from across the political spectrum. Sweating in dark suits and dresses, they waited for hours in the heat to file past Bertin's open coffin. A white veil covered her face.
Many of the mourners spoke of an atmosphere of fear among Aristide's opponents. One of them, Patrick Brutus, said shots were fired outside his home Sunday night, soon after he received telephone death threats.
At a news conference, Prime Minister Smarck Michel said several of his ministers yesterday morning told him that they, too, had received death threats.
"We run the same risk as everybody -- I don't even know what sort of security I can give myself," Michel said.
U.S. officials notified the Aristide government after learning of the hit list. Haitian authorities said they warned Bertin and offered her security, but she rejected the offer.
Bertin's husband said his wife never told him of any government warning or offer of security. She repeatedly was warned by friends that she was in danger, he said.
Aristide has asked for FBI assistance in tracking down the killers and promised President Clinton when he was in Haiti last Friday that Bertin's killers will be brought to justice.
Some accuse Bertin's fellow coup supporters of killing her to discredit Aristide. The pro-Aristide newspaper Liberte editorialized, quoting a Haitian proverb: "All the thanks a dog can expect is a beating."
