Editing Jean-Bertrand Aristide (section)

== First presidency (1991–96) ==

Following the violence at the aborted [[1987 Haitian general election|national election of 1987]], the [[Haitian general election, 1990-1991|1990 election]] was approached with caution. Aristide announced his candidacy for the presidency. Following a six-week campaign, during which he dubbed his followers the "{{lang|fr|Front National pour le Changement et la Démocratie}}" (National Front for Change and Democracy, or FNCD), Aristide was elected president in 1990 with 67% of the vote in what is generally recognized as the first honest election in Haitian history. However, just eight months into his presidency he was overthrown by a [[1991 Haitian coup d'état|bloody military coup]]. He broke from FNCD and created the [[Struggling People's Organization]] (OPL, Organisation Politique "Lavalas") – "the flood" or "torrent" in [[Haitian Creole|Kréyòl]]. The coup d'état overthrowing Aristide occurred six weeks after the 200-year anniversary of [[Bois Caïman]], a Vodou ceremony during which Haitians planned the Haitian Revolution of 1791, which the Aristide government had commemorated at the National Palace.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McAlister |first1=Elizabeth |title=From Slave Revolt to a Blood Pact with Satan: The Evangelical Rewriting of Haitian History |journal=Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses |date=2012 |volume=41 |issue=2 |pages=187–215 |doi=10.1177/0008429812441310 |s2cid=145382199 |url=https://works.bepress.com/elizabeth_mcalister/37/ |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=22 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722044504/https://works.bepress.com/elizabeth_mcalister/37/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A coup attempt against Aristide had taken place on 6 January, even before his inauguration, when [[Roger Lafontant]], a [[Tonton Macoute]] leader under Duvalier, seized the provisional president [[Ertha Pascal-Trouillot]] the first and only woman president.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Juste |first=Jonel |date=1 June 2023 |title=Foreign Head of State Immunity: Lafontant v. Aristide (1994) |url=https://medium.com/@jjuste02/foreign-head-of-state-immunity-lafontant-v-aristide-1994-6efb851e0722 |access-date=1 June 2023 |website=Medium |language=en}}</ref> After large numbers of Aristide supporters filled the streets in protest and Lafontant attempted to declare martial law, the army crushed the incipient coup.<ref>Collins, Edward Jr., Cole, Timothy M. (1996), "Regime Legitimation in Instances of Coup-Caused Governments-in-Exile: The Cases of Presidents Makarios and Aristide", ''Journal of International Law & Practice'' 5(2), p&nbsp;220.</ref>

During Aristide's short-lived first period in office, he attempted to carry out substantial reforms, which brought passionate opposition from Haiti's business and military elite.<ref name=CollinsCole/> He sought to bring the military under civilian control, retiring the commander in chief of the army [[Hérard Abraham]], initiated investigations of human rights violations, and brought to trial several Tontons Macoute who had not fled the country.<ref name=CollinsCole/> He also banned the emigration of many well known Haitians until their bank accounts had been examined.<ref name=CollinsCole>Collins, Edward Jr., Cole, Timothy M. (1996), "Regime Legitimation in Instances of Coup-Caused Governments-in-Exile: The Cases of Presidents Makarios and Aristide", ''Journal of International Law & Practice'' 5(2), p&nbsp;219.</ref> His relationship with the National Assembly soon deteriorated, and he attempted repeatedly to bypass it on judicial, Cabinet and ambassadorial appointments.<ref name=CollinsCole/> His nomination of his close friend and political ally, [[René Préval]], as prime minister, provoked severe criticism from political opponents overlooked, and the National Assembly threatened a no-confidence vote against Préval in August 1991. This led to a crowd of at least 2000 at the National Palace, which threatened violence; together with Aristide's failure to explicitly reject mob violence, this permitted the junta, which would topple him, to accuse him of human rights violations.<ref name=CollinsCole/> The nomination of [[Marie-Denise Fabien Jean-Louis]], a Duvalier-linked physician with no diplomatic experience, as [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Haiti)|minister of foreign affairs]], also received significant opposition from many within the Lavalas movement.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dumas |first1=Pierre-Raymond |title=La transition d'Haïti vers la démocratie: essais sur la dérive despotico-libérale |date=1997 |publisher=Imprimeur II |location=Port-au-Prince |isbn=978-99935-614-1-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rv4OAAAAYAAJ&q=%22jean%20louis%22 |language=fr |oclc=38080575 |trans-title=Haiti's Transition to Democracy: Essays on the Despotic-Liberal Drift |page=50}}</ref>

=== 1991 coup d'état ===

In September 1991 the army performed a coup against him ([[1991 Haitian coup d'état]]), led by army general [[Raoul Cédras]], who had been promoted by Aristide in June to commander in chief of the army. Aristide was [[Deposition (politics)|deposed]] on 29 September 1991, and after several days sent into exile, his life only saved by the intervention of U.S., French and Venezuelan diplomats.<ref>Collins, Edward Jr., Cole, Timothy M. (1996), "Regime Legitimation in Instances of Coup-Caused Governments-in-Exile: The Cases of Presidents Makarios and Aristide", ''Journal of International Law & Practice'' 5(2), p&nbsp;199.</ref> In accordance with the requirements of article 149 of the Haitian Constitution, Superior Court justice [[Joseph Nérette]] was installed as président provisoire to serve until elections were held within 90 days of Aristide's resignation. However, real power was held by army commander [[Raoul Cédras]].<ref name="coup">{{Cite news|date=1 October 1991 |title=Leader of Haiti Ousted Military Takes Over After Seizing Aristide |work=[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]] |format=reprint |url=http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/99074.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110185707/http://bailey83221.livejournal.com/99074.html |archive-date=10 November 2012 }}</ref> High-ranking members of the Haitian [[Service d'Intelligence National|National Intelligence Service]] (SIN), which had been set up and financed in the 1980s by the U.S. [[Central Intelligence Agency]] (CIA) as part of the war on drugs, were involved in the coup, and were reportedly still receiving funding and training from the CIA for intelligence-gathering activities at the time of the coup, but this funding reportedly ended after the coup.<ref name="weiner">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/11/14/world/cia-formed-haitian-unit-later-tied-to-narcotics-trade.html?pagewanted=1|author2=Time Weiner|title=C.I.A. Formed Haitian Unit Later Tied to Narcotics Trade|newspaper = New York Times |date=14 November 1993 |first1=Howard W. |last1=French |access-date=6 May 2010}}</ref> The ''New York Times'' stated, "No evidence suggests that the C.I.A. backed the coup or intentionally undermined President Aristide."<ref name="weiner"/> However, press reports about possible CIA involvement in Haitian politics before the coup sparked congressional hearings in the United States.<ref name="LATimes11021993">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-11-02-mn-52438-story.html|author=Jim Mann|title=Congress to Probe CIA-Haiti Ties|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=2 November 1993}}</ref>

A campaign of terror against Aristide supporters was started by [[Emmanuel Constant]] after Aristide was forced out of power. In 1993, Constant, who had been on the CIA's payroll as an informant since 1992, organized the [[Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti]] (FRAPH), which targeted and killed Aristide supporters.<ref name="LATimes11021993"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/cia-helped-to-set-up-terror-group-in-haiti-1441438.html|author=Rupert Cornwell|title=CIA 'helped to set up terror group' in Haiti|newspaper=The Independent|date=7 October 1994 | location=London}}</ref><ref name=weisbrot>{{Cite journal |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/undermining-haiti/ |author=Mark Weisbrot |title=Undermining Haiti |journal=The Nation |date=22 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117012458/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/undermining-haiti/ |archive-date=17 January 2022}}</ref>

Aristide spent his exile first in [[Venezuela]] and then in the [[United States]], working to develop international support. A [[United Nations]] trade embargo during Aristide's exile, intended to force the coup leaders to step down, was a strong blow to Haiti's already weak economy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19930827/1717922/un-ready-to-end-haiti-sanctions----security-council-expected-to-suspend-oil-arms-embargo|author=Victoria Graham|title=UN Ready To End Haiti Sanctions|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=27 August 1993}}</ref> President [[George H. W. Bush]] granted an exemption from the embargo to many U.S. companies doing business in Haiti, and president [[Bill Clinton]] extended this exemption.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19941103/1939459/poorly-enforced-sanctions-botch-us-embargo-of-haiti|author=Sydney P. Freedberg, Rachel L. Swarns|title=Poorly Enforced Sanctions Botch U.S. Embargo of Haiti|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=3 November 1994}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19940218/1895987/americans-step-up-business-with-haiti-despite-sanctions----humanitarian-exemption-lets-trade-increase|author=Carl Hartman|title=Americans Step Up Business With Haiti Despite Sanctions|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=18 February 1994}}</ref>

In addition to this trade with the United States, the coup regime was supported by massive profits from the drug trade thanks to the Haitian military's affiliation with the [[Cali Cartel]]; Aristide publicly stated that his own pursuit of arresting drug dealers was one event that prompted the coup by drug-affiliated military officials Raul Cedras and Michel Francois (a claim echoed by his former secretary of State Patrick Elie). Representative [[John Conyers]] (D-Michigan) expressed concern that the only U.S. government agency to publicly recognize the Haitian junta's role in drug trafficking was the [[Drug Enforcement Administration]], and that, despite a wealth of evidence provided by the DEA proving the junta's drug connections, the Clinton administration downplayed this factor rather than use it as a hedge against the junta (as the U.S. government had done against [[Manuel Noriega]]). Nairn in particular alleged that the CIA's connections to these drug traffickers in the junta not only dated to the creation of SIN, but were ongoing during and after the coup. Nairn's claims are confirmed in part by revelations of Emmanuel Constant regarding the ties of his FRAPH organization to the CIA before and during the coup government.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

=== 1994 return ===
[[File:DD-SD-99-03743.jpg|thumb|President Jean-Bertrand Aristide returns triumphantly to the National Palace at Port-au-Prince, Haiti]]

Following large pro-Aristide demonstrations by Haitian expats (estimated over 60,000 demonstrators in New York City)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Faison |first=Seth |date=12 October 1991 |title=Thousands of Haitians Protest Coup |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/12/nyregion/thousands-of-haitians-protest-coup.html |access-date=22 April 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> urging Bill Clinton to deliver on his election promise to return Aristide to Haiti, U.S. and international pressure (including [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 940]] on 31 July 1994), persuaded the military regime to back down and [[Operation Uphold Democracy|U.S. troops were deployed in the country]] by President Bill Clinton. On 15 October 1994, the Clinton administration returned Aristide to Haiti to complete his term in office.

Aristide received the 1996 [[UNESCO]] Prize for human rights education.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Summary list of UNESCO Prizes: list of prizewinners |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000111158 |access-date=22 April 2022 |website=unesdoc.unesco.org}}</ref>