The September 1988 Haitian coup d'état took place on 18 September 1988, when a group of non-commissioned officers in the Haitian Presidential Guard overthrew General Henri Namphy and brought General Prosper Avril to power. IACHR
REPORT ON THE SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN HAITI
OEA/Ser.L/V/II.74 doc. 9 rev. 1, 7 September 1988 Namphy had been a member of the National Council of Government from 1986 until the February 1988 inauguration of

Leslie Manigat Leslie François Saint Roc Manigat (August 16, 1930 – June 27, 2014) was a Haitian politician who was elected as President of Haiti in a tightly controlled military held election in January 1988. He served as President for only a few months, fr ...

, who had won the military-controlled 1988 general election. Namphy had overthrown Manigat in the June 1988 coup d'état when Manigat sought to exercise his constitutional right to control military assignments. The St. Jean Bosco massacre on 11 September, attributed to former

Tonton Macoute The Tonton Macoute ( ht, Tonton Makout) or simply the Macoute was a special operations unit within the Haitian paramilitary force created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. In 1970 the militia was renamed the ' (VSN, Voluntee ...

, contributed to the September coup, particularly after Namphy failed to condemn it and six participants were allowed to appear on national television the following day and issue further threats. As the IACHR put it, "Many people were outraged that these individuals could appear on television, without any disguise, confess their participation in these events and threaten future criminal acts with no fear of being arrested by the authorities." In addition, there were fears that the massacre could be the beginning of the re-emergence of the

and potentially eclipse the army.

"In a brief prepared statement read in the name of the Presidential Guard at 2 a.m. Sunday morning, Sgt. Joseph Heubreux explained the coup as an attempt by non-commissioned officers to restore honor to the
Armed Forces of Haiti The Armed Forces of Haiti (french: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, (ANI) and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police). The Army was always ...
and to end a period of random violence and confusion in the army
chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...
under General Namphy. Sgt. Heubreux introduced the new head of state, Prosper Avril, as "the most honest officer" in the Haitian Armed forces. Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril stated that he accepted the nomination as President to "save the country from anarchy and chaos".

Avril had been removed from the National Council of Government in 1986 following demonstrations protesting his links to the previous regime of

Jean-Claude Duvalier Jean-Claude Duvalier (; 3 July 19514 October 2014), nicknamed "Baby Doc" ( ht, Bebe Dòk), was a Haitian politician who was the President of Haiti from 1971 until he was overthrown by a popular uprising in February 1986. He succeeded his father ...

. The September coup brought him to the Presidency, and he remained there as head of a military regime until March 1990.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1988 09 Haitian coup d'etat Haiti September coup d'etat Military coups in Haiti Military history of Haiti September 1988 events in North America