The National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti (french: Front pour la libération et la reconstruction nationales, links=no) was a
rebel
A rebel is a participant in a rebellion.
Rebel or rebels may also refer to:
People
* Rebel (given name)
* Rebel (surname)
* Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution
* American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...
group in
Haïti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and so ...
that controlled most of the country following the
2004 Haitian coup d'état. It was briefly known as the "Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front", after the country's central
Artibonite region, before being renamed on February 19, 2004, to emphasize its national scope.
The group can be considered an alliance between two elements within the coup: armed anti-government gangs and former soldiers of the disbanded Haitian army. The most prominent of the gangs was the one based in
Gonaïves
Gonaïves (; ht, Gonayiv, ) is a List of communes of Haiti, commune in northern Haiti, and the capital of the Artibonite (department), Artibonite Departments of Haiti, department of Haiti. It has a population of about 300,000 people, but current ...
, formerly known as the "Cannibal Army", that had once supported
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in ...
but later turned against him. It initiated the coup with its capture of Gonaïves on February 5, 2004. It has been led by
Buteur Metayer since the murder (allegedly on Aristide's orders) of Buteur's brother,
Amiot Metayer Amiot may refer to:
People
* Félix Amiot (1894–1974), French aircraft designer and shipbuilding
* Jean Joseph Marie Amiot (1718–1793), French Jesuit missionary to China
* Jean-Claude Amiot (born 1939), French composer
* Mathieu Amiot ( ...
, in late 2003.
Following the capture of Gonaïves, the rebels quickly moved into several neighboring towns, expelling the police from them. Some of these, such as
Saint-Marc
Saint-Marc ( ht, Sen Mak) is a commune in western Haiti in Artibonite departement. Its geographic coordinates are . At the 2003 Census the commune had 160,181 inhabitants. It is one of the biggest cities, second to Gonaïves, between Port-au-P ...
, were retaken by the police and pro-Aristide militants within days, however. On February 14, the rebels were reinforced by opponents of the government who had returned from exile in the Dominican Republic: 20 former soldiers, led by
Louis-Jodel Chamblain, a former militia leader who headed army death squads in 1987 and a militia known as the
Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti
The Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH) (french: Front pour l'Avancement et le Progrès Haitien) was a far-right
paramilitary group organized in mid-1993. Its goal was to undermine support for the popular Catholic priest Jean- ...
(FRAPH), which killed and maimed at least 4,000 people, and raped and tortured thousands more in the early 1990s. By February 17, the rebel forces had captured the central town of
Hinche
Hinche (; ht, Ench; es, Hincha) is a commune in the Centre department Haiti. It has a population of about 50,000. It is the capital of the Centre department. Hinche is the hometown of Charlemagne Péralte, the Haitian nationalist leader who ...
, near the Dominican border. According to reports, this attack was led by Chamblain. The rebels also controlled most of the roads connecting the central Artibonite province with the north and south of the country.
It has been alleged that, from 2001 to 2004, the United States Government funded and implemented training operations for a group of 600 anti-Aristide paramilitary soldiers, with the approval of the Dominican Republic's president,
Hipolito Mejia.This training was allegedly carried out by roughly 200 members of the US Special Forces. Among the soldiers trained during this operation were known human-rights violators,
Guy Philippe and
Louis-Jodel Chamblain.
On February 4, 2004, the paramilitary groups led by Buteur Metayer, Guy Philippe, and Louis-Jodel Chamblain began marching on the capital of Haiti,
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
. On February 22, the rebels captured the country's second-largest city,
Cap-Haïtien
Cap-Haïtien (; ht, Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape"), typically spelled Cape Haitien in English and often locally referred to as or , is a commune of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previousl ...
. By February 25, nearly the entire north was in rebel hands, and the rebels were threatening to attack the capital,
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...
. On February 29, Aristide resigned under intense pressure from the United States Government and an impending attack from rebel groups, including the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti. Aristide was Haiti's first democratically elected president. April 24, 2004, Louis-Jodel Chamblain surrendered to Haitian authorities after being convicted
in absentia
is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent".
may also refer to:
* Award in absentia
* Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body
* Election in absen ...
of the slaughter of dozens in Haiti in 1999.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Revolutionary Front For The Liberation Of Haiti
Politics of Haiti
Political organizations based in Haiti
History of Haiti