« It is time for the international community to end the historic embargo on Haiti and stop the Machiavellian plot to strangle this rebellious island in order to give a lesson to the ideals of 1804.”
Haiti won its independence from France in 1804. The Haitians changed their colonial name from Saint Domingue to Haiti or Ayti. One of the most important outcomes of this revolution was that it forced Napoleon Bonaparte to sell Louisiana to the U.S.
In 1825 Haiti was forced to sign an agreement with France that included France demanding an indemnity of 150 million francs in five annual payments of 30 million to be paid by Haiti in claims over property that French people, slave owners, lost through the Haitian Revolution. Haiti was forced to take a loan for the first 30 million, and in 1838 France agreed to reduce the remaining debt to 90 million to be paid over 30 years, with the final payment paid in 1883.
The New York Times estimates that because of other loans taken to pay off this loan, the final payment to debtors was actually paid in 1947. The Times estimated that a total 112 million francs was paid in indemnity, which when adjusted for the inflation rate would be 560 million in 2022, but considering that if it had been invested in the Haitian economy instead, it could be valued at $115 billion.
Even after the indemnity was paid, Haiti had to continue paying the other loans, and the government of the United States funded the acquisition of Haiti’s treasury in 1911, and in 1922, the rest of Haiti’s debt was moved to be paid to American investors. The New York Times states, that it took until 1947 for Haiti to finally pay off all the associated interest to the National City Bank of New York (now Citibank).
The double debt helped set off a cascade of privation, budgetary shortfalls and onerous foreign loans that damaged the development of Haiti which is now one of the poorest countries in the world. From the light of those past events there is no doubt that France is responsible for impoverishing Haiti.
Today, Haiti continues to pay, at a high price, the consequences of its birth. The First Independent Black Republic in the world continues to drag behind the legacy of three hundred years of colonization. Vertières has caused a global embargo on the young nation. Haiti has been banished from 1804 to 1862 in the list of independent countries and then has suffered the worst abuse in history. The great powers of the time – France, Spain, Britain, and the United States – have blocked all trade between the young republic and other countries.
In a world deeply racialized by European theories, concepts, and practices, there was repulsion, an uncontrolled desire to undermine Haiti’s foundations, vilify its sovereignty, counterfeit its history, and consequently, the country will be constantly under attack. Its existence as a black nation is unwanted, unwelcome in the Western world.
The coherence of the factors, acts, and words calls upon us to stretch the line from the independence days to the present to explain the situation of Haiti.
Thomas Jefferson, the first US secretary of state and diplomat in France during the American Revolution, became president when Haiti declared independence. His position was radical towards the new nation; he refused to recognize the independence of Haiti. He said, “We shall confine the plague to the island.” Talleyrand from France sent a letter to request that the United States not do business with those “barbarians.” Haiti was then the first country to be subjected to US sanctions and a world blockade.
The sanctions and economic blockade were coupled with diplomatic isolation. In 1825, the US objected to Haiti’s participation at the Conference of Columbia. The other Latin American countries accepted the exclusion of Haiti, which would have benefited from reinforcing its relationship with countries in the region.
For more than sixty years after its independence, Haiti was under international embargo. France and other imperialists’ countries had decided to asphyxiate the Haitian economy to force the Haitian government to negotiate independence. Haiti remained totally isolated diplomatically punished as the only independent Caribbean nation to escape colonial rule by its own means. Politically and economically isolated, the country is still paying today the price of the international blockade.
On July 28, 1915, in regard of the Monroe Doctrine, the United States occupied Haiti. Three hundred thirty U.S. Marines landed at Port-au-Prince. The National City Bank of New York had convinced the President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, to take control of Haiti’s political and financial interests. The American occupation ended the Constitutional ban on foreign ownerships of land, which had existed since the foundation of Haiti. The occupation ended on August 1, 1934 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed in August 1933 a disengagement agreement.
On many occasions, Britain, Spain, the United States, and Germany lodged claims for indemnity while issuing threats of blockades, bombing, and killing. A Haitian historian documented over 170 of these scams, threats, and aggressions that the Haitian government was subjected to.
Spain claimed indemnity from Haiti for upholding its ideals of justice and freedom by helping the Dominican Republic resist recolonization. Germany went beyond indemnity claim for a man called Luders, a German citizen. Luders was sentenced to jail for beating a Haitian soldier. Germany in retaliation decided to seize Haitian warships and asked, as a matter of humiliation, a 21-gun salute for the Germany/Nazi flag and a ceremony of honor for Count Schwerin, Germany’s chargé d’affaires. Two German warships were posed in the harbor of Port-au-Prince, threatening to bomb the national palace if the Haitian government did not meet the demands. Haiti’s acquiesced to the ultimatum; the humiliation was consummated, still, the Germans were not satisfied; they returned the Haitian ships with the Haitian flag trampled and smeared with feces.
This case is emblematic and it illustrates the interactions of the great powers such as the United States, France, Spain, and Britain with Haiti.
Could Evangelist Pat Roberson, The New York Times columnist David Brooks, and Wall Street Journal contributor Lawrence Harrison explain where they saw voodoo’s role in the previously stated facts, or were they speaking about voodoo or race?
Haiti from the date of its independence to now faces numerous internal issues. Coming out of centuries of slavery, in the absence of a radical change, some structures will remain and would be detrimental to Haiti’s progress. The radical change was engaged by Dessalines, the principal Heroes of Haiti’s independence, but his assassination in 1806 stopped this process. He laid out an ideal of justice, integration, and unification in the first constitution of 1805. With his death, the socioeconomic structure inherited from the colony remained the same; the masses were free from slavery but not empowered with land ownership, education, and financial means.
From crisis to crisis, Haiti turned into a fertile ground for neo-colonization which is, in itself, in radical opposition to the strengthening of the State, and the building of a nation. Haiti came to experience, as a result, many foreign interventions that are exacerbating the socio-economic flaws, corrupting the political process, and undermining the strength of community efforts, and civil organizations through indefinite interference of Nongovernmental Organizations. The most prominent examples are the US occupation in 1915, which seeing the American government sided with the interests of the corrupt elites instead of protecting the interests of the masses. The capture by City Bank of New York of the funds of the Republic of Haiti, the adjustment program from IMF, the numerous unsuccessful UN missions up to the presence of the Kenyans troops in Haiti, are some examples that illustrate the role played by the international community damaging the development of the country.
Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, is dominated by gangs over 75%. There are now nine lawless areas in the capital. The gangs have demonstrated their capacity to challenge the government for the last eight years. Their presence was solidified after the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse on July 7, 2021. They have the financial means to recruit a significant number of young people in highly precarious situations as a result of political instability. They have in their possession a continuous supply of sophisticated arms. The deterioration of the socioeconomic situation raises significant humanitarian concerns. Economic activity is minimal, and educational health systems are disrupted due to security issues in certain areas. The unthinkable is happening in Haiti right now while arms coming from the Dominican Republic, Colombia, the United States… continue to flow. People have been fleeing their homes in areas claimed by the gangs. According to a report from the United States Security Council, gang violence has killed more than 500,000 in 2024. The number of children being recruited into armed groups in Haiti has increased by 70 per cent over the past year, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a report in November 2024.
Over 200,000 people have fled their homes across Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince in the last past months amid escalating gang violence, with more than 50,000 seeking shelter in 15 displacement sites as critical supply chains collapse.
Enough is enough. It is time to tell the truth. An immediate change must occur to stop the socioeconomic deterioration, and the humanitarian catastrophe, and to strengthen the State. For that, historical, political, and structural blockages must be clarified to understand and establish the proper governance in Haiti. According to an agreement between diplomats and some political parties, Haiti entered into a new political regime unknown in its history, a government run by a Presidential transitional Council composed of nine members selected jointly by diplomats and political parties. The Council is unconstitutional. Its mission is to address security issues and to organize long-term expected elections. After many months in power, the Council is trapped in internal issues and unable to take the appropriate radical actions that would bring peace and stability in the country.
Haiti’s costly Presidential Council (CPT) is on brink of collapse after a corruption scandal hit three key members. This transitionary council created to reestablish democratic order in Haiti failed. It is time to find a solution to correct the situation. From the Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) we must go and among the judges choose one of them as President (Art 149 of the Haitian Constitution of 29 mars 1987).
ARTICLE 149: Should the office of the President of the Republic become vacant for any reason, the President of the Supreme Court of the Republic, or in his absence, the Vice President of that Court, or in his absence, the judge with the highest seniority and so on by order of seniority, shall be invested temporarily with the duties of the President of the Republic by the National Assembly duly convened by the Prime Minister- The election of a new President for a new five (5) year term shall be held at least forty-five (45) and no more than ninety (90) days after the vacancy occurs, pursuant to the Constitution and the Electoral Law. This proposition is the best alternative to stabilize the country. We must focus on the priorities: choose the president of Haiti from the Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation), nominate a strong and credible government, communicate a clear agenda supported by political and civil entities, reinforce the judicial system, invest massive funds in the social, arrange the National Conference, and finally put in place an Electoral College credible to organize the elections.
Jean Senat Fleury