Failing that, they say, the CIA should train and equip Haitian officers exiled in the neighboring Dominican Republic so they could stage a comeback themselves. With just under 8 million inhabitants, zero natural resources and no strategic value except proximity to Cuba, Haiti instead would seem a perfect candidate for benign neglect under the Bush administration's national-interest test. Those days are over. Because of political turmoil and crime, the resort has closed. Garbage lines its beach.
Furniture is piled for storage in the rooms.
The pool sits forlorn and unused, filled with dirty rainwater. But a rumor has moved recently through the huts of straw matting and cinder block. With Aristide back in office, the club will reopen soon, it says. The village will get jobs again. He's our friend.