Notes and Analysis

New reviews of my book by Hyppolite Pierre and Bruce Poinsette

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:56:00 +0000

Read a new review here of my book by Hyppolite Pierre. He is a Political Science Adjunct Faculty at the American Military University and the author of Haiti, Rising Flames from Burning Ashes: Haiti the Phoenix.

Also read a review/interview here on my book by Bruce Poinsette of The Skanner News.

Article in ¡Presente!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:30:00 +0000

The new issue of ¡Presente!, the newspaper of the movement to close the School of the Americas (SOA), includes an abridged version of my recent article on Haiti's ex-army. The article can be read here.

Interview on KPFA Radio

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 00:30:00 +0000

See here for a new interview I did on KPFA Flashpoints Radio.

Global Capitalism and “North-South” Unevenness

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 21:51:00 +0000

I have a new journal article (co-authored with scholars from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and from the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Iztapalapa) published in the journal Perspectives on Global Development and Technology. We examine quantitatively the ranking, statistical correlations, and profits from the Forbes’ Worldwide List of 2000 Top Firms, arrive at some conclusions, and suggest a valuable approach for understanding and analyzing this data. You can read the article here.

Paramilitarism in Haiti: A Photo Montage

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 07:21:00 +0000

Below are photos to accompany my book Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti (Monthly Review Press, 2012). These photos were either: (a) provided to me with permission to use by the photographer, (b) photos that I took, or (C) I have re-pasted them here (through Creative Commons (CC) which was especially necessary with the older historical periods covered).
These images focus our attention on paramilitary organizations and their facilitators: various state, military, and intelligence apparatuses, officials, and elite networks. As paramilitary groups and their backers have gained impunity time and again, it is necessary to document all of this for the historical record, which I have tried to do in my recently published book. Through these photos, we are forced to recognize that the victims of paramilitary violence in Haiti are overwhelmingly from the country's lower-income communities and grassroots pro-democracy movement.
In addition to these photographs, I suggest looking over the many excellent documentaries, books, and other sources that provide a compelling record of contemporary paramilitary violence in Haiti and the region.

I have put this photo montage together from a powerpoint that I used a few months back in various talks I gave on the book. I hope readers of the book will find this useful, as well as the few university classes that I know have been assigned to read it. This photo montage is a work in progress, so I will be updating it in the future. If you have other photos you think would be good to add to this page, please email me at: jhsprague[at]umail.ucsb.edu

CHAPTER ONE: A HISTORY OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE AGAINST THE POOR

U.S. military trainer with Haitian soldiers during the U.S. occupation of Haiti, 1915-1934. Haitian soldiers escorting Haitian anti-occupation rebels into prison. The Dominican Republic was occupied by the U.S. at around the same time, between 1916 and 1924. The formation of the contemporary Haitian and Dominican armies under U.S. tutelage bequeathed to these nations a "poison gift" through which the interests of dominant groups and U.S. corporations would be violently upheld. In both countries, the new armed forces worked alongside brutal militia forces (in Haiti these were called the 'section chiefs'). All of this is discussed in more detail in the book. (Photos: CC)

President for Life François Duvalier "Papa Doc" (right) holding bilateral talks with Dominican Generalissimo Rafael Trujillo (left) at the Dominican-Haitian boarder in December of 1958. (Photos: CC)

A contingent of U.S. Marines under Lt Col. Robert Debs Heinl, Jr. (co-author of the book Written in Blood), trained the Tonton Macoute paramilitaries (officially known as the the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale or VSN) alongside units of Haiti's army during 1961 and 1962. This is discussed more in my book. Also see journalist Leslie Cockburn's interview with industrialist Butch Ashton on how this occurred. (Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Naval Institute)

Tonton Macoute paramilitaries, known formally as the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (VSN), parade with rifles and swords on July, 29 1984. This was the twenty fifth anniversary of their founding. A symbiotic relationship had occurred for decades, where many macoutes served in both the VSN and the Haitian army (the FAd'H). They were originally founded in 1959-1960 during the start of Francois Duvalier's regime. In the book I describe this as the 'first wave' of paramilitarism in contemporary Haiti, a force that was used to violently silence leftist, pro-democracy activists, labor organizers, and critical voices in general. (Video Stills: CC)

U.S. industrialist (and emissary of U.S. President Nixon) Nelson Rockefeller meeting with Duvalier, to sign various deals between the two countries. (Photo: CC)

Haiti's Leopards Corps in camouflage uniforms, founded in 1971 as a "counter-insurgency" force upon the inauguration of Jean-Claude Duvalier (also known as "Baby Doc"). The Leopards were described by human rights investigators as "particularly brutal in dealing with civilians." Some of Haiti's future paramilitary leaders got their start in this outfit. (Photo: Courtesy of United States Department of Defense)

James Byers was CEO of the Miami based company Aerotrade, which trained and outfitted Jean-Claude Duvalier’s "counterinsurgency force", the Leopards, during 1971 and 1972. On camera in the mid-1980’s he acknowledged that Aerotrade did this under CIA contract, U.S. Department of State approval, and close supervision from US officials. See here. (Video Still: CC)

Jean Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier with U.S. military officer in early 1970s.

Jean-Claude Duvalier in Leopard uniform with regime entourage. (Photo: CC)

Jean-Claude Duvalier alongside family as well as VSN and FAd'H high command overseeing a parade on the 26th anniversary of the Tonton Macoutes (VSN). To Jean-Claude Duvalier's left is Roger Lafontant, dreaded leader of the VSN. (Video Still: CC)

Huge protests in Haiti occurred against the Tonton Macoutes and the regime, leading eventually to Jean Claude's fleeing the country. The photo (to the right) is of a young man holding up a dog in a macoute uniform. (Video Stills: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster)

With Jean Claude in exile, the country's military attempted to hold power. Unelected President Henri Namphy led an "interim ruling body", the National Council of Government, between February 1986 and February 1988 and then again from June 1988 until September 1988. With a massive social movement organizing across the country, he was forced to accept the voting in of a new constitution. Even still, paramilitary violence continued as the macoutes removed their uniforms and operated as 'attaches' working increasingly close with the FAd'H. (Photo: CC)

Victims of a massacre conducted by attache paramilitaries working with police and military forces in 1987. Following the fall of Jean-Claude, the Tonton macoutes had removed their blue uniforms and increasingly worked in civilian garb and worked as attachments alongside the military, as the common people increasingly fought back. I describe these 'attaches' as the 'second wave' of paramilitarism in contemporary Haiti. (Photos: Courtesy of photographer Tony Savino)

The St. Jean Bosco massacre , September 11, 1988. (Photo: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster)

The St. Jean Bosco massacre , September 11, 1988 (Video Still: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster)

Leslie Manigat, briefly headed a Duvalierist student group before becoming disillusioned and moving to the elite opposition. He nonetheless shared many Duvalierist tenets. He briefly held the presidency after a military held and widely denounced "election" in which few participated. (Photo: CC)

Prosper Avril, an advisor and trusted member of Jean-Claude Duvalier's presidential guard. After ousting Namphy, he ruled from September 1988 to March of 1990. (Photo: CC)

Across the border from Haiti, in the Dominican Republic, rightwing forces (also with the support of the U.S.) controlled the state apparatus. Joaquin Balaguer (above), after serving as vice president under Dominican fascist dictator Rafael Trujillo, served as president of the Dominican Republic between the years 1960-1962, 1966-1978, and 1986-1996. Balaguer promoted a viscious xenophobia toward Haitians, useful in upholding the country's extremely unequal social system as well as to justify his inflated military budget. (Photo: CC)
In the wake of Avril's exit from power, a body known as the Council of State—made up of a number of representatives of the democratic forces and members of the anti-dictatorship movement's social democratic sector.—held a power-sharing deal with interim President Ertha Pascal-Trouillot (pictured above) in order to move forward to free and fair elections. The Council of State became very critical of Pascal-Trouillot and broke with her over what they perceived as her enabling of the army and the Duvalierists. In early 1990 paramilitaries went so far as to storm a hotel where the Council of State was meeting, killing one trade unionist organizer and wounding two others. (Photo: CC)

Roger Lafontant, head of the Tonton Macoute attaches, was by far the most feared man in the country, and attempted a coup against Pascal-Trouillot's government in January of 1991 in order to stop the inauguration of Haiti's first elected president that coming February. (Photo: CC)

CHAPTER TWO: POPULAR DEMOCRACY AND ATTEMPTS TO TURN IT BACK, 1990-2000

Pro-democracy/Anti-Duvalierist Liberation theologian Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected in Haiti's first widely hailed fair and free election, and with a large turnout. (Photo: CC)

Following the military coup that ousted Haiti's first democratically elected government on September 29, 1991, Joseph Nérette (left) on October 8, 1991 was installed as president of a “provisional government”, although real authority continued to be held by a military junta headed by General Raoul Cedras (right). (Photo: Courtesy of photographer Tony Savino)

Frank Romain held numerous positions over his career from mayor of Port-au-Prince, to Chief of the National Police under Duvalier, and also served as a one-time FAd'H colonel and Tonton Macoute who had received training at the U.S. School of the Americas. (Video Still: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster)

Members of the FAd’H High Command (Courtesy of photographer Tony Savino)

Human rights organizers found that the military and paramilitary forces were dumping bodies of those they had executed in the old body dumping location of the Duvalier regime. The photos above also show various regime officials that brutalized Haiti's poor and pro-democracy movement. See more photos here and here. (Video Stills and Photographs: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster, documentarian Kevin Pina, and photographer Tony Savino)

U.S. journalists and filmmakers documented how during the early 1990s the CIA's station chief in Port-au-Prince, John Kambourian (above), was providing direct cash payments to the FRAPH leadership and working as an interlocuteur between the local bourgeoisie, the FRAPH, and the U.S. embassy (Video Still (left): From the documentary Rezistans, courtesy of Crowing Rooster Arts. Photo (right): CC)

Members of a FRAPH paramilitary force based out of Port-au-Prince in 1993. The 'third wave' of contemporary paramilitaries in the country, used to violently target Haiti's pro-democracy movement. (Photo: Courtesy of photographer Tony Savino)

Journalists and human rights investigators documented how the defacto regime imprisoned large numbers of youth and pro-democracy activists that had demonstrated against the 1991 coup. (Video Still: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster Arts)

Antoine Izméry (above), passionate pro-democracy and anti-coup business leader assassinated by paramilitaries in 1994. (Video Stills: from the documentary Rezistans, courtesy of Crowing Rooster Arts)

The assassination of the Justice Minister of Haiti Guy Malary and his bodyguards (a video still from the documentary Rezistans, courtesy of Crowing Rooster Arts)

Haiti's poor majority and diaspora community turned out in massive demonstrations against the violent rule of the de facto regime and the ouster of the country's first democratically elected government. (Video Stills: Courtesy of Crowing Rooster Arts)

Dany Toussaint, a one time CIA asset and FAd’H veteran, that opposed the 1991 coup, he was put in charge of an interim public security force with the return of Haiti’s elected government in 1994. Powerful, charismatic, and intelligent, he held significant influence within the new police force that was formed, and exploited his ties with the country’s popular movement and elected government, while maintaining links with elites and the U.S. He and other corrupt ex-FAd'H formed a narco trafficking cartel. This cartel as well as two other locally based cartels competed to fill the place of the disbanded army, whose leadership had controlled (and profited) off the narco trade going through the country for decades. (Photo: CC)

The Raboteau trial: The most significant and first attempt to hold paramilitaries and army men in Haiti accountable for violence before a court of law. A number of other trials and investigations were held into elite and paramilitary violence against the poor, a history (widely ignored) that I document in the book. (Photo: CC)

Bob Manuel, close with the U.S. embassy, served as security chief to Haiti's second democratically elected president Rene Préval. Manuel carried out a heightened insertion of ex-FAd'H into the new police force (and importantly the FAdH he sought to insert into the new police force were from the pool considered closest with the U.S. and from bourgeoisie connected backgrounds), placing them into top positions. I document this in detail in the book. Importantly during the late 1990s, Manuel oversaw the integration of this group of young well-connected former FAd’H trainees into important positions within Haiti’s new police force (this group known as the "Ecuadorians", or "Bob Manuel’s Jewels", were younger cadets that had been trained with U.S. support in Ecuador, and as youths some had attended the school of Haiti's bourgeoisie in Port-au-Prince, Saint-Louis de Gonzague. Most were involved in the narco trade as well.) (Photo: CC)

CHAPTER THREE: THE RETURN OF PARAMILITARISM, 2000-2001

Guy Philippe, one of the "Ecuadorians" to be integrated into Haiti's police under Bob Manuel, would eventually help lead a new paramilitary force (the FLRN) against Haiti's elected government in the early 2000s. Haitian and U.S. officials have accused him of involvement in narco-trafficking, and I discuss this further in the book. While Philippe has been a relatively loose cannon in speaking with the media, he has continued to remain an important figure for the ex-FAd'H strata in the country. (Photo: Courtesy of Isabel Macdonald)

Former police chiefs Godwork Noel (left) and Jacky Nau (right) worked alongside Philippe to mount a paramilitary campaign against Haiti's democracy. Both had been trained as part of Haiti's military with U.S. support in Ecuador prior to being brought into Haiti's police. Nau attended (along with Philippe) the prestigious Port-au-Prince school Saint-Louis de Gonzague. Today, both serve in important security positions within the rightwing Martelly government. (Photos: Courtesy of Haïti Liberté Newspaper)

An upscale neighborhood in Santo Domingo where Dominican officials told the author that Guy Philippe lived throughout parts of 2001, 2002, and 2003. (Photo by the author)

Career bureaucrats at the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Relations in Santo Domingo acknowledged providing close support to Guy Philippe and his paramilitary force. From left to right is Dr. Luis Ventura Sanchez, Haitian ex-pat Jean Bertin, and William Paez Piantini. This is discussed in more depth in the book. (Photo by the author)

Ministry of Foreign Relations. This ministry as well as sectors within the Dominican army were important backers of FLRN paramilitaries. Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. (Photo by the author)

Former Dominican President Hipólito Mejía (left) being interviewed by the author (middle) in August of 2007. The interview was conducted at one of Mejía's mansions, a 45 minute drive outside of Santo Domingo. (Photo taken by one of Mejía's servants with the author's camera)

President Mejía on his mansion's veranda. (Photo by the author)

CHAPTER FOUR: THE INITIAL ATTACKS, 2001

Near the national palace on the morning after the December 17, 2001 assault, police and others gathered around one of the trucks (with mounted M-50) that had been utilized and abandoned by FLRN paramilitaries during their attempted palace takeover the previous night. (Photo: Courtesy of Haiti Progres)

A photo of a meeting in late 2001 in Santiago, Dominican Republic, of Dominican President Hipolito Mejía with other Dominican government officials and rightwing hardliners of Haiti’s business elite. Pictured from left to right is Ben Bigio (said to be Haiti’s wealthiest industrialist at the time), Harry Joseph, Dominican President Mejía, Georges Saati, Ramon Albuquerque (president of the Dominican Senate), and two other Dominican officials. (Photo courtesy of Delis Herasme)
Judie C Roy. One of a group of wealthy elites in Port-au-Prince that backed the FLRN paramilitaries. This photo is from an interview in which she acknowledged to the author that she was an early financier of the FLRN paramilitaries. Her role and the role of other local elites is documented in detail in the book. (Photo by the author)

Georges Saati. One of a group of wealthy diaspora business leaders that is believed to have sponsored the FLRN paramilitaries and came under investigation by the government of Haiti. Haitian government investigators charged that they had discovered both his role and the role of his brother in backing the FLRN paramilitaries. (Photo by the author)

My book documents the role of Lt. General Soto Jiménez of the Dominican military in supporting the FLRN paramilitaries. (Photo: Courtesy of Diario Libre)

General Manuel Dominican Major Polanco Salvador, close with Dominican President Mejía, also played a role, as discussed in my book. (Photo: Courtesy of Diario Libre)

Delis Herasme , a controversial "journalist" in the Dominican Republic and "childhood friend" of President Mejía. He claimed to have held parties at his home in Santo Domingo for the paramilitaries and their elite and government backers in the Dominican Republic during the early 2000's. He elaborated upon these in an interview with the author and explained how the paramilitaries had backers from within both of the major Dominican establishment political parties (the PLD and the PRD). (Photo: Courtesy of GuasabaraEditor)

Industrialist's Charles Henry Baker (left) and André “Andy” Apaid, Jr. (Right) and some others from the transnationally oriented business sector in Haiti are believed to have at different times backed paramilitary forces in the country. (Photo: Provided to the author in 2007 by the late photojournalist Jean Ristil Jean-Baptiste)

CHAPTER FIVE: WAR OF ATTRITION, 2002-2003

Speaking with the press in Santo Domingo in 2003: Paul Arcelin, representative of the Convergence Democratic in the Dominican Republic and political strategist for the FLRN (left), Guy Philippe (middle), and another paramilitary boss Jean-Baptiste “Tyson” Clotaire (right). (Photo: CC)

The late Remissainthe Ravix, one of the most brutal and feared leaders of the FLRN paramilitaries, he was said to be the operational commander in US embassy cables. For photographic evidence of one massacre he carried out see here. (First Photo: Courtesy of Tom Griffin, Second Photo: CC)

A gathering of victims and family members of victims of paramilitary violence in the central plateau. These people and others founded the Mouvement Pour Le Développement du Plateau Central (MODEPC) and continue to work with Haitian human rights lawyers to seek justice. These victims of rightist paramilitary violence have received virtually no coverage in the Haitian or International media.[1] For more see here, here, here and in French here. (Photo: Courtesy of photographer Wadner Pierre)

The International Republican Institute (IRI) hosts a meeting of Haitian opposition activists in 2003 at the luxurious Hotel Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Throughout 2003 and into early 2004 the USAID and NED funded IRI hosted meetings at the luxurious Montana hotel in Santo Domingo. As a yearlong New York Times investigation revealed, it was at these meetings that more officials from Haiti's political and civil society opposition rubbed elbows with the leadership of the FLRN paramilitaries. Above photos include then IRI officials Georges Fauriol (who now works at the Washington DC think tank CSIS and at the U.S. government financed NED) and Haitian right winger Stanley Lucas who currently works for the Martelly government. (Photo: CC)
At the time of 2004 coup France's Foreign Minister was Dominique de Villepin (above). He played an instrumental role in overthrowing Haiti's elected government and U.S. embassy officials at the time communicated with the State Department that they believed France was providing financial support to the FLRN paramilitaries (as mentioned in my book). (Photo: CC)

CHAPTER SIX: THE "UPRISING" OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, 2004

Above: FLRN paramilitaries occupying Cap Haitien in 2004, what I describe in the book as the 'fourth wave' of paramilitarism in contemporary Haiti. (Photo: Courtesy of photographer Alan Pogue)
Passport photo and business card of Louis-Jodel Chamblain (co-founder of FRAPH and a leader of the FLRN and later the FRN "political party"). He was the mastermind of numerous assassinations of pro-democracy activists and leaders. In 2010, he headed up security for former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier following his secret entry into the country. This photo and business card were provided by Chamblain to the author during an interview in 2007 at the Hotel Ibo Lele where he lived in luxury in the Pétionville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. (Provided to the author by Louis-Jodel Chamblain)

Above: Chamblain along with other FLRN criminal paramilitaries holding "court" in one of their "liberated" towns, judging youth suspected of supporting Haiti's pro-democracy movement. (Photo: CC)

Above: Hugues Paris, “a commercial advisor to Raoul Cedras”, according to the late Haitian pro-democracy activist Antoine Izmery.[1] Paris moved to Santo Domingo after the fall of the Cedras regime in 1994. According to Dominican government documents, as of 2008, Hugues Paris owned a company named Captain Pat that specializes in investment sales, income management, and the operation of tourist enterprises by air, sea or land.[2] He is also believed to at one time have owned a car dealership in Haiti.
Individuals from Haiti's bourgeousie interviewed by the author alleged that he had a 'behind the scenes' role in the Gonaives jailbreak on August 4, 2002 in which 150 prisoners escaped. The 2002 jailbreak in Gonavies was carried out by armed individuals who used a bulldozer to knock down a wall of the jail.
Those who escaped included leaders of armed groups in the city (such as Jean Tatoune and Amiot "Cubain" Metayer) and a number of ex-military who had been convicted for their role in 'Raboteau massacre' (a slum in Gonaives where the FAd'H violently targeted anti-coup/pro-democracy community members in April of 1994). The arrest and imprisonment of these individuals had taken a good deal of resources by the government, so the jailbreak was a significant set back.
The jailbreak intensified a heated struggle in Gonaives, in which local police were hard pressed and eventually were unable to contain. According to a formerly top secret US Embassy cable released to the author through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, US agent Janice Elmore (see below) met in Gonaives with Hugues Paris in the days leading up to the jailbreak.[3]
Also, according to the same U.S. embassy cable the then Dominican ambassador to Haiti, Alberto Despradel, claimed that Hugues Paris had ties to the coup plotters. Individuals from Haiti's bourgoueisie interviewed by the author alleged that Hugues Paris works with a loose network of wealthy Duvalierists and ultra-right wingers in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Haiti's diaspora abroad. (This photo was provided by a source that requested anonymity)
[1] See discussion by Izmery in the film Rezistans (1997).
[2] ONAPI (Oficina Nacional de la Propiedad Industrial) 8/172 (April 2008), available at http://onapi.gob.do/download.cfm?downloadfile=A0AFE2B7-3FF3-3729-C8F6E6C81693A550.
[3] Jack L. Barnhart, Regional Security Officer, U.S. Embassy, Port-au-Prince, Cable E9279E, September 18, 2002. (Photo: Provided to the author by an anonymous source)

According to a cable sent from the U.S. embassy in Port-au-Prince to the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., US official Janice Elmore (above) met secretly in the port city of Gonaïves with anti-government plotter Hugues Paris as well as with shadey police officers during the days prior to the August 4, 2002 jailbreak in that city.[1]
U.S. congressional testimony reveals that Elmore has served as a US State Department Political MilitaryAdvisor in Sarajevo, held positions at the US embassy in Kartoum, served as a narcotics coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in EL Salvador (1986-1990), and then went to work in Haiti, and very likely worked for the CIA. Elmore also testified at 'CIA-Contra Crack Cocaine Controversy' hearings held by the U.S. department of justice.[2] According to FOIA cables obtained by the author, other U.S. officials in addition to Elmore had contact with neo-Duvalierist plotters and opportunist sectors within Haiti's police.
[1] Jack L. Barnhart, Regional Security Officer, U.S. Embassy, Port-au-Prince, Cable E9279E, September 18, 2002.
[2] U.S. Department of Justice "CIA-Contra Crack Cocaine Controversy", available online at: http://www.justice.gov/oig/special/9712/ch10p3.htm
(Photo: CC)

U.S. Ambassador James Foley oversaw the 2004 coup d'etat and the proceeding integration of 400 ex-army paramilitary criminals into Haiti's police force. He wrote to the State Department that: “It is equally plausible that Aristide succeeded in permanently raising the political and social consciousness (not to mention the expectations) of Haiti’s disadvantaged masses, and thus created a force which the next generation of political leaders will either have to placate or manipulate.” Ambassador James Foley, U.S. embassy, Port-au-Prince, Cable 3E08FF, July 12, 2004. (Photo: Courtesy of the United States Department of State)

CHAPTER SEVEN: THE POST-COUP PERIOD, 2004-2005, AND BEYOND

Paramiitary commander Remissainthe Ravix with paramilitaries under his command at their base in the Pétionville neighborhood of Port-au-Prince in November of 2004. In addition to the hundreds of paramilitaries utilized in Port-au-Prince following the coup, hundreds more were mobilized across the country with bases in Ouanaminthe, Cap Haïtien, Fort Liberté, Jérémie, Petit Goâve, Jacmel, as well as in some smaller towns. (Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Griffin)

"New army" paramilitaries in late 2004 being dispatched to the Bel Air neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. (Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Griffin)

A Haitian women that died from gunfire after paramilitaries opened fire on an anti-coup demonstration in Cite Soleil. (Photo: Courtesy of the late Jean Ristil Jean-Baptiste)

Human Rights investigators discovered that nearly 10 months after the 2004 coup, the main morgue of Port-au-Prince was well beyond capacity and breaking down. (Photo: Courtesy of Thomas Griffin)

A Miami University Human Rights Study described the photo above as the “The Carrefour Pean massacre”. They reported that, “The gaping hole in the head of the boy at the far right... suggests the use of a large-caliber gun, at very close range.” Human rights investigators gathered a good deal of other disturbing photographic evidence, documenting extrajudicial executions and widespread politically motivated attacks by paramilitary-police forces. (Photo: Courtesy of journalist Reed Lindsay)

Haitian police engaging gunmen in Port-au-Prince in 2005. A "slum uprising" occurred in September of 2004 following months of killings of peaceful anti-coup demonstrators by para-police forces. A number of anti-coup militants took up arms against the post-coup police force, their paramilitary allies, and UN troops stationed in the capital. During 2004 and 2005, under UN, OAS, and US supervision, 400 ex-FAd'H paramilitaries were integrated into Haiti's National Police. (Photo: Courtesy of photographer Joanna Gleason)

A Haitian National Police "Wanted Poster" in November of 2004. All of these wanted were Lavalas street leaders (described by some as gang leaders and by others as anti-coup militants). The leaders of armed groups in low income neighborhoods of Port-au-Prince that were anti-Lavalas, such as Thomas “Labanye” Robinson, were of course not included on the poster. (Photo: Courtesy of Attorney Thomas Griffin)

Human right investigators in 2005 from AUMOHD and HURAH investigate homes in the Gran Ravine neighborhood of Port-au-Prince that were burned, with some of the inhabitants murdered by the anti-Lavalas paramilitary organization Lame Ti Manchet. (Photo: Courtesy of HURAH/AUMOHD)

12 year old boy murdered by Lame ti Manchet paramilitaries on July 7, 2006 in Gran Ravine, Port-au-Prince. (Photo: Courtesy of HURAH/AUMOHD)

Esterne Bruner, a grassroots human rights organizer of AUMOHD and a resident of Gran Ravine, murdered by Lame ti Manchet paramilitaries. (Photo: Courtesy of HURAH/AUMOHD)

Victims of Lame ti Manchet paramilitary violence in Gran Ravine, testify to human rights investigators. (Photo: Courtesy of HURAH/AUMOHD)

MINUSTAH on midday "peace" operation in November of 2004 alongside Haitian National Police in the Port-au-Prince neighborhood of Bel Air. (Photo: Courtesy of attorney Thomas Griffin)

Haitian National Police officers meeting with UN advisors and foreign technocrat observers. (Photo: Courtesy of United Nations website)

Pierre-Antoine Lovinsky, one of the most well known pro-democracy and human rights activists opposed to the ex-FAd'H and paramilitaries. He was a founder and leader of the Fondasyon 30 Septamn, an organization made up of victims from the September 1991 coup. An vocal opponent of the second coup in February of 2004 he mysteriously disappeared in August of 2007. In this photo he was leading a sit in at Haiti's Ministry of Justice on October 26, 2006. (Photo: Courtesy of photographer Wadner Pierre)
Haiti under occupation. Troops from the Brazilian contingent of MINUSTAH (United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti). The author was harassed by these soldiers on August 18, 2007 when taking photos of them standing guard in front of the national palace as members of the Fondasyon 30 Septamn protested the disapearance of grassroots human rights leader Pierre Antoine Lovinsky, one of the most vocal and longtime opponents of paramilitary terror in Haiti. (Photo by the author)

Jean-Claude Duvalier (center), with his chief of security Louis-Jodel Chamblain (to his right) in the days following his return in January of 2011. (Video-still: Courtesy of Democracy Now! Pacifica Radio)

Important backers of the 2004 coup and the return of Haiti's brutal military, Senator Youri Latortue (left) with President Michel Martelly (right) in 2011. One U.S. embassy cable released through WikiLeaks states that: “Senator Youri Latortue may well be the most brazenly corrupt of leading Haitian politicians”. (Photo: Courtesy of Haïti Liberté Newspaper)

“New army” recruits being trained by ex-FAd’H drill commanders in March of 2011. (Photo: Courtesy of Isabeau Doucet)

Ex-FAd'H LT Jeune Aduen Moniteur stands in front of a Duvalierist flag at a “new army” camp that is thirty to forty minutes from the center of Port-au-Prince, past Carrefour, between the towns of Mariane and Gressier. It has been dubbed ‘Lambi 12 Grande Saline’. With hundreds of new recruits active in the area, the ex-FAd’H say that half a dozen other such camps are active across the country. (Photo by the author)

Ex-FAd’H and new recruits meet to train, advocate for the return of the Duvalierist military, and network to find jobs in local security firms. (Photo by the author)

A young recruit of the "new army" in mid-2011, too young to remember the Duvalierist regime, poses proudly in front of a red and black Duvalierist flag. (Photo: Courtesy of Isabeau Doucet)

"The past is never dead. It's not even past."
-William Faulkner

Book reviewed on two websites

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 18:06:00 +0000

These websites have published two versions of a new review of my book, see here and here.

Interview on Radio Kajou (Florida) & CKCU fm (Ottawa)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:38:00 +0000

I was interviewed for around 45 minutes on my new book by Haitian writer and activist Jean Saint-Vil on Radio Kajou (based out of south Florida) & CKCU fm (based in Ottawa, Canada) on December 9. The discussion was partially translated into haitian kreyol. You can listen to the talk here, but will only be available for the next three weeks.

Rendez-vous Haitien

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 01:08:00 +0000

Nan emisyon sa a Jafrikayiti (Jean St Vil) chita pale ak otE Jeb Sprague ki pibliye "Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti", yon liv ki bay anpil detay sou kanpay militE ki makonnen ak koudeta 29 fevriye 2004 la. Sprague te pale ak alatEt mEsenE yo, Louis Jodel Chamblain, Judy C. Roy, ak anpil plis. Li te resevwa plizyE dokiman klasifye nan men gouvEnman Meriken ki ede li konprann pi byen nan ki kondisyon mEsenE yo t ap opere sou teritwa Dominiken depi anvan Aristide te prete sEman kom Prezidan nan ane 2001.

Book reviewed on Counterfire

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 05:51:00 +0000

The UK based website Counterfire has reviewed my book. See the full review here.

article en Haïti Liberté, V6 N21.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:22:00 +0000

La reconstitution de l’armée ferait repartir Haïti 30 ans en arrière.

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 18:50:00 +0000

Par Jeb Sprague - L'Aut' Journal & Le Grand Soir

Le Gouvernement haïtien prépare le retour de l’armée haïtienne, pourtant dissoute, qui a été une institution coupable de nombreux crimes perpétrés dans le pays. Au même moment, des unités spéciales de la police ont été utilisées pour chasser les victimes du tremblement de terre hors des campements de fortune.

Alors que la société civile et les organisations populaires d’Haïti mènent une campagne contre un éventuel retour de l’ère de la répression duvaliériste, les citoyens américains, dominicains, et français devraient être mis au courant de l’appui historique que leur gouvernement a donné aux forces armées militaires et paramilitaires haïtiennes, ainsi qu’aux forces de sécurité.

La formation d’une nouvelle force militaire moderne a commencé lors de l’occupation nord-américaine entre 1915 et 1934. Une fois que les militaires nord-américains se sont assurés que l’occupation pouvait continuer par procuration, les États Unis se sont retirés de l’île. Au début des années 60, les marines nord-américains ont entrainé les Tonton Macoutes et en ont fait la force paramilitaire redoutée du dictateur François « Papa Doc » Duvalier.

Lorsque le fils de Duvalier, Jean Claude, a pris le pouvoir en 1971, les anciens marines nord-américains ont entraîné et équipé un corps de l’armée brutal appelé les Léopards. Ces instructeurs travaillaient pour une compagnie de Miami, qui était alors sous contractée par la CIA, le tout sous la surveillance du Département d’État Américain. La France a également soutenu le régime duvaliériste.

Dès l’inauguration du premier gouvernement démocratiquement élu d’Haïti, en Février 1991, ces criminels paramilitaires de renom sont entrés dans la clandestinité.
Cependant sept mois plus tard, les forces militaires du pays organisent un coup d’état contre le président élu démocratiquement, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Une nouvelle organisation paramilitaire se crée, le FRAPH, et lance une vague de terreur sur le pays.

Après des années de mobilisation et de pression sur le gouvernement étatsunien et sur l’Organisation des Nations Unies, la démocratie haïtienne est restaurée en 1994. L’armée (intrinsèquement liée aux paramilitaires) est dissoute et des procédures judiciaires commencent. Et pourtant certains diplomates nord-américains ont exercé de fortes pressions pour l’inclusion de certains anciens militaires à des postes importants dans la nouvelle force de police haïtienne. Comme le souligne alors l’ONG Human Rights Watch dans un rapport, les États-Unis ont utilisé une partie de cette nouvelle force policière contre les mouvements populaires du pays.

Il convient de souligner également que les forces militaires ont contrôlé pendant des décennies le narcotrafic, et après la dissolution de l’armée, une partie de l’élite et des anciens militaires (dont certains sont aujourd’hui parmi la police) se sont disputé le contrôle du trafic de la cocaïne.

En 2000, un groupe d’anciens soldats connus sous le nom des « Équatoriens » (un groupe d’officiers ayant reçu une formation à Quito, en Équateur, bénéficiant de relations étroites avec les États-Unis) ont démontré comment l’influence étatsunienne sur les forces de sécurité haïtiennes, loin de les réformer, a produit l’effet inverse. À la fin de l’année 2000, ce groupe a lancé une guerre d’usure paramilitaire sur Haïti.

Plus tard, d’autres se sont rapprochés des paramilitaires, dont de riches leadeurs d’entreprises de textile haïtiennes, des néo-duvaliéristes, une poignée de fonctionnaires opportunistes du gouvernement haïtien, une partie du ministère des affaires étrangères dominicaine et de l’armée dominicaine. Les documents récemment déclassifiés grâce au Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), ainsi que des entretiens ont révélé le très probable soutien des agences de renseignements étatsuniennes et françaises.

Utilisant la République Dominicaine comme base, les paramilitaires ont pu amplifier leurs opérations meurtrières et, en 2004 ils ont joué un rôle clé dans le coup d’État qui a renversé le deuxième gouvernement d’Aristide. L’Organisation des États Américains (OEA) et les États-Unis n’ont pas contraint la République Dominicaine à extrader ou à détenir les paramilitaires haïtiens qui utilisaient le territoire dominicain.

Peu de temps après le coup d’état, les procédures judiciaires à l’encontre des paramilitaires ont été suspendues. Les « financeurs » des escadrons de la mort ont bénéficié d’une totale impunité. Par la suite, 400 membres de la force paramilitaire ont été incorporés à la police remaniée sous la supervision des États-Unis, de l’ONU et de l’OEA. Nous connaissons aujourd’hui ces informations secrètes de l’ambassade étatsunienne par les révélations de Wikileaks.
Une certaine inquiétude est exprimée par l’ambassade des États Unis sur les paramilitaires, mais la politique fondamentale n’a jamais été remise en question : les personnes ayant perpétré de graves crimes et ayant renversé un gouvernement démocratiquement élu peuvent être intégré dans la police sans être tenu responsables de leurs crimes.

Suite au tremblement de terre de 2010 et à la polémique de 2011 lors de élections de Michel Martelly (allié duvaliériste), s’est lancé une campagne pour recréer l’armée haïtienne. La France a offert son appui financier, le Brésil et l’Équateur ont proposé, quant à eux d’entrainer les troupes.
De récentes études réalisé par société civile ont montré que la grande majorité de la population est en désaccord, voire en profond désaccord avec la reconstitution de l’armée.
Il est temps que les citoyens des États-Unis, de France, de République Dominicaine y d’autres pays se penchent avec attention sur ce que font leur gouvernement à Haïti. Le congrès des États Unis a besoin d’être plus attentif quant aux fonds alloués à Haïti par le département des affaires extérieures ; à savoir que ces fonds ne portent en aucun cas atteinte à la démocratie de ce pays, et ne servent plus à affaiblir le système judiciaire et à encourager l’impunité pour les criminels duvaliéristes et leurs alliés.

Les mouvements sociaux mondiaux doivent demander des comptes aux autorités responsables de leurs délits à l’étranger. Les mouvements populaires doivent créer et renforcer les liens qu’ils ont avec les mouvements haïtiens, en s’opposant aux coups d’état et à la violence paramilitaire.

Jeb Sprague est l’auteur du nouveau livre, « Paramilitarisme et l’Assaut sur la Démocratie en Haïti. » Pour plus d’informations, voir ici : http://monthlyreview.org/press/books/pb3003/

Versions anglaise de cet article:
(1) http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/09/06/2988432/reviving-haitis-army-would-harm.html
(2) http://upsidedownworld.org/main/haiti-archives-51/3973-haitis-excluded-majority-opposes-armys-re-creationhttp://www.larepublicaonline.com/2012/10/20793/
Version espagnole de cet article:

(1) http://www.larepublicaonline.com/2012/10/20793/

Book talk in Austin, Texas

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 19:36:00 +0000

Listen here to a talk that I gave on my new book Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti at the 5604 Manor in Austin, Texas, on September 28, 2012. This was recorded and released by Allan Campbell of Community Audio for 91.7FM in Austin, Texas.

book reviewed by The Bullet

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 07:23:00 +0000

See today's issue of 'The Bullet' for a review of my new book by author Michael Baker. Barker also has a blog with a lot of writings here.

OpEd in Jamaica Observer

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 16:44:00 +0000

I have a new article titled "Haiti's excluded majority opposes army's re-creation" published in the Jamaica Observer. Read the article here. The full version of the article appears here on the website Upside Down World.

Video interview on my new book

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:42:00 +0000

David Zlutnick has put up on youtube a video interview that he did with me on my new book Paramilitarism and the assault on democracy in Haiti. You can see the interview here.

una revista de Santiago en República Dominicana llamada La República publico un articulo de mi

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 03:03:00 +0000

Le aquí mi nuevo artículo sobre el intento de las fuerzas de derecha a reconstruir el antiguo ejercito de Haití. Discuto brevemente las condiciones históricas que están detrás de esto.

Upcoming talk at SOA Watch Vigil in Columbus, Georgia

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 21:08:00 +0000

On November 17, haitian grassroots photojournalist Wadner Pierre and myself will be speaking about paramilitary political violence in Haiti. We will in particular highlight the historical role of some agencies within the U.S. government in facilitating and enabling military and paramilitary waves of repression in Haiti. We'll also discuss the ongoing project of rightwing forces in Haiti (and their foreign backers) to rebuild the country's brutal former army.

The event will take place in Columbus, Georgia, 5:30-7pm, in Room 104 in the Convention Center for the Annual Vigil to close down the School of the Americas (SOA) Watch (801 Front Avenue, Columbus, GA 31901). For more on SOA Watch see their website here. The workshop is co-sponsored by the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (http://ijdh.org/), the Haiti Action Committee (http://www.haitisolidarity.net/) + more to be added soon.

Book reviewed in Al Jazeera

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:12:00 +0000

Author Belén Fernández has published a review of my book on the Al Jazeera English website. You can read it here. A version of her review is also published in español here.

Audio of book talk aired on WPFW's Africa Now (in Washington D.C.)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 03:42:00 +0000

Thank you to Mwiza Munthali, of Trans Africa and WPFW's Africa Now (based out of Washington D.C.), for recording and airing my talk at Georgetown University on September 25. You can listen to it here.

OpEd in Miami Herald

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 18:40:00 +0000

I have a new article published here in the Miami Herald. It is titled "Reviving Haiti’s army would harm democracy". Click here to read.

Counterpunch review of book

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 18:41:00 +0000

The alternative media outlet Counterpunch (of Jeffrey St. Clair and the late Alexander Cockburn) has published a review of my book. You can read the review by clicking here.

Book interview on the Black Agenda Report

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 23:54:00 +0000

Glen Ford, of the Black Agenda Report aired on the Progressive Radio Network (PRN), recently aired an interview with me on my new book Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti. You can listen to the interview here, toward the end of the show.

Book interview on CKUW (in Winnipeg, Canada)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 17:15:00 +0000

Here is a audio recording of an interview (from Sep 16) that I gave on my book to CKUW 95.9 in Winnipeg, Canada. I did this interview after speaking at McNally Robinson books in Winnipeg.

Talk at DePaul University (in Chicago)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 06:58:00 +0000

Here is a video of a talk that I gave on my book in Chicago at DePaul University on September 18th. This was hosted by the Open University of the Left.

Book talk on CFUV radio (in Victoria, Canada)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeb Sprague) — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 17:12:00 +0000

An audio recording of one of the talks from my ongoing book tour is online here. My talk begins around 17 minutes and 55 seconds. It was recorded on September 15, 2012 at the University of Victoria in Victoria, Canada. The audio is on the website of Gorilla Radio which is a show on CFUV 101.9 FM, a radio channel run out of the University of Victoria.