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Fri 21 Jan, 2011 08:37 pm
I was simply flabbergasted when I read this. The USA, that bastion of all that is right and good in this world, supported a brutal dictator. Say it ain't so, Joe!
Quote:
Jean-Claude Duvalier
Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" (born July 3, 1951) was the President of Haiti from 1971 until his overthrow by a popular uprising in 1986. He succeeded his father, François "Papa Doc" Duvalier, as the ruler of Haiti upon his father's death in 1971.
After assuming power, he introduced cosmetic changes to his father's regime and delegated much authority to his advisors, though "thousands [of Haitians] were killed and tortured, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians fled into exile," according to CNN.[1] He maintained a notoriously lavish lifestyle (including a state-sponsored US$3 million wedding in 1980), and made millions from involvement in the drug trade and from selling body parts from dead Haitians while poverty among his people remained the most widespread for any country in the Americas.[2]
Relations with the United States improved after his ascension to the presidency, and then deteriorated under the Carter administration, only to again improve under Ronald Reagan due to the strong anti-communist stance of the Duvaliers.[3]
Following a quarter of a century in self-imposed exile due to a popular uprising in 1986, Duvalier returned to Haiti on January 16, 2011. The following day he was arrested by Haitian police, facing possible charges for theft due to the profiting lifestyle enjoyed by him and the bulk of his regime.[2]
On 18 January 2011, Duvalier was charged with corruption, and will be held before a judge in Port-au-Prince for trial.[4]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Claude_Duvalier