Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
interim junta, controlled by the armed forces. After Jean-
Claude's departure, Lieutenant General Henri Namphy, army
chief of staff, became head of the interim National Council of
Government. The interim government officially disbanded the
VSN a few days after Duvalier's departure but avoided the politically
difficult measure of effectively halting the VSN's activities.
The failure to do so led angry mobs to set upon members of
the VSN and set in motion a cycle of instability. Despite the
popular backlash, some VSN agents managed to survive by
integrating themselves into military circles. By 1987 the initial
positive view of the armed forces had given way to anger
because of the army's failure to dismantle the VSN, which continued
to thwart proposed government reform. Worse, the
senior military command was blamed for the failed elections of
1987 and 1988, isolating the Haitian military from the international
community, which had grown skeptical about the role of
the armed forces.
In September 1988, another coup brought Lieutenant General
Prosper Avril of the Presidential Guard to power. The
armed forces continued to face problems. Within a six-month
period, 140 officers reportedly were retired or were fired, some
because they were suspected of drug smuggling. Political rifts
within the senior command split the officer corps into warring
factions. After a week of internecine conflict in April 1989,
Avril was able to prevail because he held the loyalty of the Presidential
Guard and enjoyed support from many NCOs. But the
military was left in a state of crisis, without a clearly defined
political program.
Under pressure from the United States and facing severe dissension
at home, Avril fled to Florida in March 1990. Elected
president in fair elections nine months later, Jean-Bertrand
Aristide entered office in February of 1991 without opposition
from the army. He introduced an ambitious program of
reforms, several of which were bound to disturb the military
leadership. The top ranks were purged, steps were taken to separate
the police from the army as called for by the 1987 constitution,
and the position of section chief—key to the FAd'H's
power in the provinces—was abolished.
Increasingly perceived as a radical by the military, Aristide
found it difficult to exert his authority over the military command.
The return to Haiti of Duvalier supporters and the evidence
of drug-dealing among a number of officers heightened
civil-military friction. A military-led coup, backed by the eco-
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