What happened to Aristide?
Jean Bertrand Aristide, a former Roman Catholic priest and Haiti’s first democratically elected leader, was forced from power in February 2004. Accused of corruption, Aristide fled the country in the midst of an armed revolt and under intense U.S. and French pressure. He was flown in a U.S. jet to the Central African Republic and now lives in exile in South Africa. It wasn’t the first time Aristide had lost power. In 1991, Haiti’s army overthrew the president. The United States restored Aristide to office in 1994, and he promptly disbanded the army. A champion of Haiti’s poor, Aristide continues to command support in the poorest slums of the country. His Lavalas Family Party is still active, and his supporters have clashed with the police and the United Nations. The interim government has blamed Aristide for fomenting violence from exile in South Africa. Aristide counters that the government has arbitrarily arrested and executed Lavalas Family Party activists and sympathisers. The gove
