Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Haiti: National Security
foreign mercenaries. The navy ceased to exist after the United
States military occupation in 1915 but reappeared as a coast
guard unit in the late 1930s. During and after World War II,
Haiti received several coast guard cutters and converted submarine
chasers from the United States. After the three major
units of the Haitian coast guard mutinied in 1970, shelling the
Presidential Palace, the ships were disarmed by the United
States at Guantanamo, Cuba, where they had fled, and
returned to Haiti. Francois Duvalier subsequently announced
plans for a major expansion by the purchase of twenty-four vessels,
including motor torpedo boats, but the project was not
consummated and was in any event probably beyond the support
capabilities of the Haitian navy.
During the 1970s, after Duvalier's death, most of the existing
fleet units were disposed of or returned to the United States.
Five small patrol craft were purchased privately in the United
States, as was an armed tugboat from the United States Navy;
the tugboat was converted for offshore patrol use. This vessel
plus two coastal patrol craft were all that remained of the navy
when the 1991-94 military regime ended. The navy had a single
base at Port-au-Prince and a complement of 340 officers
and men.
The Haitian air force was formed in 1943 with a number of
training aircraft and help from a United States Marine Corps
aviation mission. After World War II ended, several transport
aircraft, including three Douglas C-47s, were added to form a
transport unit. In 1950, after the arrival of a United States Air
Force mission, a combat unit was formed with six F-51D Mustangs.
The F-51s were instrumental in the defeat of the 1970
naval mutiny when they strafed the rebel vessels bombarding
the capital. By the early 1980s, the combat units consisted of six
Cessna 337 counterinsurgency aircraft. Haiti also had a variety
of transport aircraft and trainers and a unit of eight helicopters.
By the end of the military regime in 1994, the operating
aircraft were listed as four Cessna 337s, two light transport aircraft,
and twelve training aircraft. The helicopters were no
longer in service. The air force's only base was at Port-au-
Prince, and its personnel strength as of 1993 was estimated at
300.
Military Spending and Foreign Assistance
According to estimates published by the United States Arms
Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) military expendi-
,
L
471