| May 28, 2005 Bantam Despot Strong men come in many sizes and flavors. The strong man in Haiti in July of 1994 was a plucky little Creole Brigadier named Raoul Cedras. He was short of stature, but built like a bantamweight fighter. He had that in common with Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, but he was a bit of a reluctant strongman; he was the best face that the junta could put on the group that ousted the mad priest Aristide, who was elected in the ambiguous legitimacy that made the Americans squirm in their commitment to democracy. That is why we were there. The Administration was in a funk over Haiti , held hostage by Randall Robinson's hunger strike and the demands of the Congressional Black Caucus, there was a growing consensus that only an invasion to re-establish Aristide could salvage the overall agenda. Raoul wanted a chance to get his family and his liquid assets on the afternoon flight to Miami , the gentile exit for deposed strongmen back in the day, and not the machete. My boss had dinner with the junta the night before. Mrs. Cedras cooked it herself, and it was a lavish presentation of tradition and elegance. There were appearances by the three Cedras children. The General wanted to show that he was a devoted family man, and misunderstood. My Boss said Mrs. Cedras was gracious, and the kids seemed nice enough. General Biambi of the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti- the FRAPH- objected strongly his characterization as a “thug” over dessert. He felt the characterization of the Front as a death-squad was unwarranted, and the removal of the elected government was actually an act of national salvation. Police Chief Colonel Francois was not present, and though he might have been busy monitoring the Ambassador and me, it could also have been a signal that the Junta was willing to through him to the dogs. It is awkward when a dictatorship asks directly for the United States to sanction some action. Normally this is better stage-managed through surrogates. But Cedras and the Junta could not just turn things over to the Lavalas Family Party of the little priest without being hacked to pieces, and the Administration was committed to the speedy transition. The question was terms. My Boss got the same offer from Cedras that it took Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell and the 82nd Airborne to get later that year, which was safe conduct and a cash buy-out. That wasn't in the cards that month, and the situation had to ripen a bit before Washington would act. President Clinton called the little strongman a "thug" "stooge" and a "killer,” noting that 4,000 civilians had died while he was in power. Given the severity of the rhetoric, the flight to Miami was not an option. When finally invasion was threatened, Cedras reiterated his offer to go. It was a quiet exit, conducted by military transport. Certain frozen Haitian assets were thawed, and three Cedras properties were leased by the embassy for a tidy monthly sum. The Cedras and Biambi families now reside in Panama City , where the plucky strongman operates a computer graphics store downtown, over a Dairy Queen. Police Chief Francois was not as lucky. He got out through the Dominican Republic , and spent several months in jail before avoiding deportation to the US . But last I heard, he was operating a furniture store in Honduras . Copyright 2005 Vic Socotra |