HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

Haiti had endured unremitting
political oppression for hundreds
of years. Although the people
of this troubled country
enjoyed a taste of freedom in 1990
when they elected Jean-Bertrand
Aristide as their President, the
army took control in a 30
September 1991 coup.
Attempting to reestablish the
Aristide government, the UN
imposed economic sanctions on 23
June 1993; four months later, on
15 October, President Clinton
ordered USN ships to help enforce
this embargo. Admiral David
Paul Miller, Commander in Chief,
United States Atlantic Command (CINCACOM),
activated Combined Joint Task Force (CJTF)
120 to plan and execute the multinational
Operation SUPPORT DEMOCRACY.
Operation SUPPORT DEMOCRACY
The U.S. and allied warships in CJTF 120
boarded over 600 ships during the operation’s
first five months. The effectiveness of the big
ships soon forced the smugglers into using small
vessels to carry contraband along shallow
coastal routes beyond the warships’ reach.
CJTF 120 selected the Cyclone class patrol
craft (PC) as the best response to the smugglers’
Haiti
1994-1995
USS Cyclone (left) and the Bellatrix, a Domincan Republic patrol boat,
enforced the UN-approved embargo of Haiti in 1994.
SEALs in a rigid inflatable boat (RIB) approach a possible smuggler.
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new tactic. The PCs were new to USSOCOM’s
inventory, and needed sea duty certification
before assignment to Haiti. After being certified
for participating in exercise Agile Provider, USS
Cyclone and USS Tempest departed for
Guantanamo, Cuba, on 24 May to participate in
SUPPORT DEMOCRACY.
On 30 May, CJTF 120 directed the PCs to
begin operations with the warships off the north
Haitian coast. The plan to integrate the PCs
gradually into the interdiction operation ended
when the ships encountered a Bahamian sailing
vessel trying to skirt the embargo on its very
first voyage. As the vessel headed for Port-au-
Prince, the Cyclone ordered it to stand clear of
the Haitian coast, but the vessel
did not heave to until Cyclone
fired warning flares and
launched a RIB with SEALs
aboard. The vessel attempted
to play a waiting game that
night, but at first light a combined
party from the Cyclone
and the HMCS Terra Nova—six
Canadians and three SEALs—
conducted a boarding and
search operation. They found
embargoed goods, and the
Cyclone towed the vessel to
Guantanamo.
By 23 June 1994, the CJTF
120 fleet had boarded over