2004 Haitian coup d ' état The 2004 Haitian coup d ' état was a " coup d ' état " that occurred after conflicts lasting for several weeks in Haiti during February 2004 . It resulted in the removal from office of President Jean - Bertrand Aristide preventing him from finishing his second term , and he left Haiti on a United States ( U . S . ) plane accompanied by U . S . military / security personnel . Aristide claims that his departure was a kidnapping , accusing the U . S . of orchestrating a coup d ' état against him . Aristide was forced into exile , being flown directly out of Haiti to the Central African Republic , eventually settling in South Africa . An interim government led by Prime Minister Gérard Latortue ( brought back from the U . S . ) and President Boniface Alexandre was installed in Haiti . Events prior to the coup d ' état . Controversy over Aristide ' s election in 2000 . The opposition in Haiti accused the government party of election fraud in the Haitian general election , 2000 as did the United States . U . S . Congressman Conyers wrote : The National Coalition for Haitian Rights ( NCHR ) says that there were delays in the distribution of voter identification cards . Aristide ' s supporters claim that an opposition boycott of the election was used as a ploy in order to discredit it and that they did not have anywhere near majority support . European nations suspended government - to - government assistance to Haiti . Haiti had received no help from the World Bank and the Inter - American Development Bank for years . The U . S . Congress banned any U . S . assistance from being channeled through the Haitian government , codifying an existing situation . Aristide ' s request for reparations from France . In 2003 , Aristide requested that France pay Haiti over US $ 21 billion , which he said was the equivalent in today ' s money of the 90 million gold francs Haiti was forced to pay Paris after winning its freedom from France as the hemisphere ' s first independent black nation 200 years ago . The United Nations Security Council , of which France is a permanent member , rejected a 26 February 2004 , appeal from the Caribbean Community ( CARICOM ) for international peacekeeping forces to be sent into its member state Haiti , but voted unanimously to send in troops three days later , just hours after Aristide ' s forced resignation . " I believe that ( the call for reparations ) could have something to do with it , because they ( France ) were definitely not happy about it , and made some very hostile comments , " Myrtha Desulme , chairperson of the Haiti - Jamaica Exchange Committee , told IPS . " ( But ) I believe that he did have grounds for that demand , because that is what started the downfall of Haiti , " she says . " Ottawa Initiative hosted by Canada . The Ottawa Initiative on Haiti was a conference hosted by Canada that took place in Montreal , Quebec on 31 January and 1 February 2003 , to decide the future of Haiti ' s government , though no Haitian government officials were invited . The conference was attended by Canadian , French , and U . S . and Latin American officials . Journalist Michel Vastel leaked information about the conference that he says was told to him by his friend Denis Paradis , Canada ' s Secretary of State for Latin America , Africa , and the French - speaking world , in his 15 March 2003 , article in Quebec news magazine " L ' actualité " . In the article , he claims that the officials at the conference wanted to see regime change in Haiti in less than a year . " Michel Vastel wrote that the possibility of Aristide ' s departure , the need for a potential trusteeship over Haiti , and the return of Haiti ' s dreaded military were discussed by Paradis and the French Minister for La Francophonie , Pierre - Andre Wiltzer . " Paradis later denied this , but neither Vastel nor " L ' Actualite " retracted the story . Other events . A student protest against Aristide on 7 January led to a clash with police and Aristide supporters that left two dead . Coup d ' état . Despite enjoying support by the majority of Haitians , the Washington Post informed their readers that regime change was looming on 21 November 2003 : " Aristide has pushed with mixed success a populist agenda of higher minimum wages , school construction , literacy programs , higher taxes on the rich and other policies that have angered an opposition movement run largely by a mulatto elite that has traditionally controlled Haiti ' s economy . " In the three years leading up to the coup , the nation ' s already moribund economy further deteriorated and the government ground to a halt as the opposition refused to participate in elections . The International Republican Institute , a nonprofit political group backed by powerful Republicans close to the Bush administration funded opposition to Aristide . For six years leading up to the coup , the I . R . I . conducted a $ 3 million party - building program in Haiti , training Aristide ' s political opponents , uniting them into a single bloc and , according to a former U . S . ambassador there , encouraging them to reject internationally sanctioned power - sharing agreements in order to heighten Haiti ' s political crisis . " [ Aristide ] was espousing change in Haiti , fundamental populist change , " said Robert Maguire , a Haiti scholar . " Right away , he was viewed as a threat by very powerful forces in Haiti . " President Aristide promised not only to give voice to the poor in the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere , but also to raise the minimum wage and force businesses to pay taxes . He rallied supporters with heated attacks on the United States , a tacit supporter of past dictatorships and a major influence in Haitian affairs . The anti - Aristide message had currency around Washington . Mr . Einaudi , the veteran diplomat , recalled attending the I . R . I . ' s 2001 fund - raising dinner and being surrounded by a half - dozen Haitian businessmen sounding a common cry : " We were foolish to think that we could do anything with Aristide . That it was impossible to negotiate with him . That it was necessary to get rid of him . " In September 2003 , Amiot Metayer was found dead , his eyes shot out and his heart cut out , most likely the result of machete - inflicted wounds . He was , prior to his death , the leader of the Gonaives gang known as " The Cannibal Army . " After his death , his brother Buteur Metayer swore vengeance against those he felt responsible for Amiot ' s death — namely , President Jean - Bertrand Aristide . Buteur took charge of the Cannibal Army and promptly renamed it the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti . On 5 February 2004 , this rebel group seized control of Haiti ' s fourth - largest city , Gonaïves , marking the beginning of a minor revolt against Aristide . During their sack of the city , they burned the police station and looted it for weapons and vehicles , which they used to continue their campaign down the coast . By 22 February , the rebels had captured Haiti ' s second - largest city , Cap - Haïtien . As the end of February approached , rebels threatened to take the capital , Port - au - Prince , fueling increasing political unrest and the building of barricades throughout the capital . Haitians fled their country on boats , seeking to get to the United States . After a three - week rebellion , Aristide involuntarily left Haiti on a US plane accompanied by US security personnel as the rebels took over the capital and was flown without knowledge of his route and destination , via Antigua to Bangui , Central African Republic . Many international politicians , including members of the U . S . congress and the Jamaican Prime Minister , expressed concern that the United States had interfered with Haiti ' s democratic process by removing Aristide with excessive force . According to Rep . Maxine Waters D - California , Mildred Aristide called her at her home at 6 : 30 am to inform her " the coup d ' etat has been completed " , and Jean - Bertrand Aristide said the U . S . Embassy in Haiti ' s chief of staff came to his house to say he would be killed " and a lot of Haitians would be killed " if he refused to resign immediately and said he " has to go now . " Rep . Charles Rangel , D - New York expressed similar words , saying Aristide had told him he was " disappointed that the international community had let him down " and " that he resigned under pressure " – " As a matter of fact , he was very apprehensive for his life . They made it clear that he had to go now or he would be killed . " When asked for his response to these statements Colin Powell said that " it might have been better for members of Congress who have heard these stories to ask us about the stories before going public with them so we don ' t make a difficult situation that much more difficult " and he alleged that Aristide " did not democratically govern or govern well " . Jamaican Prime Minister P . J . Patterson released a statement saying " we are bound to question whether his resignation was truly voluntary , as it comes after the capture of sections of Haiti by armed insurgents and the failure of the international community to provide the requisite support . The removal of President Aristide in these circumstances sets a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere , as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces . " Aftermath . Supreme Court Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre succeeded Aristide as interim president and petitioned the United Nations Security Council for the intervention of an international peacekeeping force . The Security Council passed a resolution the same day , " [ t ] aking note of the resignation of Jean - Bertrand Aristide as President of Haiti and the swearing - in of President Boniface Alexandre as the acting President of Haiti in accordance with the Constitution of Haiti " and authorized such a mission . As a vanguard of the official UN force and Operation Secure Tomorrow , a force of about 1 , 000 United States Marines arrived in Haïti within the day , and Canadian , French and Chilean troops arrived the next morning ; the United Nations indicated it would send a team to assess the situation within days . On 1 June 2004 , the peacekeeping mission was passed to MINUSTAH and comprised a 7000 person force led by Brazil and backed up by Argentina , Chile , Jordan , Morocco , Nepal , Peru , Philippines , Spain , Sri Lanka and Uruguay . Brazilian forces led the United Nations peacekeeping troops in Haiti composed of American , French , Canadian and Chilean deployments . These peacekeeping troops were part of the ongoing MINUSTAH operation . In November 2004 , the University of Miami School of Law carried out a Human Rights Investigation in Haiti and documented serious human rights abuses . It stated that " Summary executions are a police tactic . " It also stated the following : " U . S . officials blame the crisis on armed gangs in the poor neighborhoods , not the official abuses and atrocities , nor the unconstitutional ouster of the elected president . Their support for the interim government is not surprising , as top officials , including the Minister of Justice , worked for U . S . government projects that undermined their elected predecessors . Coupled with the U . S . government ’ s development assistance embargo from 2000 – 2004 , the projects suggest a disturbing pattern . " On 15 October 2005 , Brazil called for more troops to be sent due to the worsening situation in the country . A number of figures from Haiti ' s past re - appeared in government after the rebellion , including Herard Abraham at the Ministry of the Interior , Williams Regala ( a former aide to Henri Namphy ) and Colonel Henri - Robert Marc - Charles , a member of the post - 1991 military junta . In the Haitian general election , 2006 , René Préval was elected president . CARICOM . CARICOM ( The Caribbean Community ) governments denounced the " removal " of Aristide from government . They also questioned the legality of the new government . The Prime Minister of Jamaica , P . J . Patterson , said that the episode set " a dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere , as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office by the power of rebel forces . " As reported by the BBC , on 3 March 2004 , CARICOM called for an independent inquiry into the departure of former Haïtian President Jean - Bertrand Aristide and says it will not send peacekeepers at this time . Patterson said there had been no indication during discussions with the U . S . and France that the plan which CARICOM had put forward prior to Aristide ' s departure was not acceptable . " In respect of our partners we can only say this , at no time in our discussions did they convey to us that the plan was unacceptable so long as president Aristide remained in office . Nor did they suggest to us anything of a nature pertaining to the conduct of President Aristide in office that would cause us to come to the judgment ourselves that he was unsuited to be the President of Haïti , " Mr . Patterson said . The U . S . and France have been accused of using pressure on CARICOM to not make a formal UN request for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Aristide ' s removal . The CARICOM initially refused to recognize the interim government , but in 2006 the newly elected René Préval resumed his country ' s membership in the organization . Controversy regarding U . S . involvement . On 1 March 2004 , US Congresswoman Maxine Waters ( D - CA ) , along with Aristide family friend Randall Robinson , reported that Aristide had told them ( using a smuggled cellular phone ) , that he had been forced to resign and abducted from the country by the United States . He claimed to be held hostage by an armed military guard . Aristide later repeated similar claims , in an interview with Amy Goodman of " Democracy Now ! " on 16 March . Goodman asked Aristide if he resigned , and President Aristide replied : " No , I didn ' t resign . What some people call ' resignation ' is a ' new coup d ' état , ' or ' modern kidnapping . ' " Many supporters of the Fanmi Lavalas party and Aristide , as well as some foreign supporters , denounced the rebellion as a foreign controlled coup d ' état orchestrated by Canada , France and the United States ( Goodman , et al . , 2004 ) to remove a publicly elected President . A new book on the subject , " Damming the Flood : Haiti , Aristide and the Politics of Containment " by Peter Hallward , scrupulously documents the events leading up to 29 February 2004 , and concludes that what occurred during the " rebellion " was in fact a modern coup d ' état , financed and orchestrated by forces allied with the US government . Hallward provides extensive documentation for his claims in interviews he has given on the subject . In a report published on 28 October 2005 , " Granma , " the official Cuban news service , alleged that United States politician Caleb McCarry engineered Aristide ' s overthrow . Some have come forward to support his claim saying they witnessed him being escorted out by American soldiers at gunpoint . Sources close to Aristide also claim the Bush administration blocked attempts to reinforce his bodyguards . The Steele Foundation , the San Francisco - based organization which supplied Aristide ' s bodyguards , declined to comment . According to a " Washington Times , " article of April 2004 The US has denied the accusations . " He was not kidnapped , " Secretary of State Colin Powell said . " We did not force him onto the airplane . He went on the airplane willingly and that ' s the truth . " The kidnapping claim is " absolutely false , " concurred Parfait Mbaye , the communications minister for the Central African Republic , where Aristide ' s party was taken . The minister told CNN that Aristide had been granted permission to land in the country after Aristide himself – as well as the U . S . and French governments – requested it . According to the US , as the rebels approached the capital , James B . Foley , U . S . ambassador to Haiti , got a phone call from a high - level aide to Aristide , asking if the U . S . could protect Aristide and help facilitate his departure if he resigned . The call prompted a series of events that included a middle - of - the - night phone call to President Bush and a scramble to find a plane to carry Aristide into exile . He traveled voluntarily via motorcade to the airport with his own retinue of security guards , including some contracted Americans . Before takeoff , Aristide gave a copy of his resignation letter to Foley ' s aide . The Associated Press reported that the Central African Republic tried to get Aristide to stop repeating his charges to the press . Aristide has also denied that a letter he left behind constitutes an official resignation . " There is a document that was signed to avoid a bloodbath , but there was no formal resignation , " he said . " This political kidnapping was the price to pay to avoid a bloodbath . " According to the US embassy translation it reads " Tonight I am resigning in order to avoid a bloodbath . I accept to leave , with the hope that there will be life and not death . " A slightly different translation was given by Albert Valdman , a linguistics professor and specialist in Haitian Creole at Indiana University in Bloomington , Ind . " If tonight it is my resignation that will avoid a bloodbath , I accept to leave with the hope that there will be life and not death . "