Tonton Macoute
Encyclopedia
Tonton Macoutes was a Haiti
an paramilitary
force created in 1959 by President François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier
. In 1970, the militia was officially renamed the Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (Militia of National Security Volunteers , MVSN) .
Haitians called this force the “Tonton Macoutes,” after the Haitian Creole mythological Tonton Macoute (Uncle Gunnysack) bogeyman
who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunnysack (Macoute) and carrying them off to be consumed at breakfast.
became president, due to the threat posed to the dictator by the regular armed forces. After an attempted coup d'etat
against him in 1958, Duvalier disbanded the army and all law enforcement agencies in Haiti, and executed all high-ranking generals. The new militia wore straw hats, blue denim
shirts and dark glasses, and were armed with machete
s and guns.
Duvalier employed the Tonton Macoutes in a reign of terror against any opponents, including those who proposed progressive
social systems. Those who spoke out against Duvalier would disappear at night, or were sometimes attacked in broad daylight. Tonton Macoutes often stoned and burned people alive. Many times the corpses were put on display, often hung in trees for everyone to see. Family members who tried to remove the bodies for proper burial often disappeared themselves, never to be seen again. They were believed to have been abducted and killed by the MVSN, who were called the "Tonton Macoutes" as a result. Anyone who challenged the MVSN risked assassination. Their unrestrained state terrorism
was accompanied by corruption, extortion and personal aggrandizement among the leadership.
Luckner Cambronne
was a particularly fierce head of the “Tonton Macoutes” throughout the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. His cruelty earned him the nickname “Vampire of the Caribbean”. He profited by extortion carried out by his henchmen and by supplying corpses and blood to universities and hospitals in the United States. After Duvalier's death, he was ordered into exile by Duvalier's widow, Simone, and son. Cambronne left Haiti in 1971 for Miami, Florida
, where he died on 20 September 2006 at the age of 77.
Some of the most important members of the Tonton Macoutes were vodou leaders and this religious affiliation gave the Macoutes a sense of unearthly authority in the eyes of the public. From their methods to their choice of clothes, vodou always played an important role in their actions.
The victims of Tonton Macoutes could range from a woman in the poorest of neighborhoods who had the temerity to support an opposing politician to a businessman who refused to “donate” money for public works (which were the source of profit for corrupt officials and even the dictator himself). Tonton Macoutes murdered over 60,000 Haitians.
The Tonton Macoutes were a ubiquitous presence in a rigged 1961 election in which Duvalier was unanimously reelected to another term, and once again in 1964 when Duvalier held a rigged referendum that declared him President for Life
.
, the son and successor of François Duvalier, until the younger Duvalier was ousted in 1986. However, massacres led by paramilitary groups spawned from the Macoutes continued during the following decade. The most feared paramilitary group during the 1990s was the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti
(FRAPH) which Toronto Star
journalist Linda Diebel described as modern Tonton Macoutes and not as the political party they claimed to be.)
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
force created in 1959 by President François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier
François Duvalier
François Duvalier was the President of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. Duvalier first won acclaim in fighting diseases, earning him the nickname "Papa Doc" . He opposed a military coup d'état in 1950, and was elected President in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform...
. In 1970, the militia was officially renamed the Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (Militia of National Security Volunteers , MVSN) .
Haitians called this force the “Tonton Macoutes,” after the Haitian Creole mythological Tonton Macoute (Uncle Gunnysack) bogeyman
Bogeyman
A bogeyman is an amorphous imaginary being used by adults to frighten children into compliant behaviour...
who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunnysack (Macoute) and carrying them off to be consumed at breakfast.
Reign of terror
The force was created in 1959, only two years after François DuvalierFrançois Duvalier
François Duvalier was the President of Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971. Duvalier first won acclaim in fighting diseases, earning him the nickname "Papa Doc" . He opposed a military coup d'état in 1950, and was elected President in 1957 on a populist and black nationalist platform...
became president, due to the threat posed to the dictator by the regular armed forces. After an attempted coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against him in 1958, Duvalier disbanded the army and all law enforcement agencies in Haiti, and executed all high-ranking generals. The new militia wore straw hats, blue denim
Denim
Denim is a rugged cotton twill textile, in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This produces the familiar diagonal ribbing identifiable on the reverse of the fabric, which distinguishes denim from cotton duck. Denim has been in American usage since the late 18th century...
shirts and dark glasses, and were armed with machete
Machete
The machete is a large cleaver-like cutting tool. The blade is typically long and usually under thick. In the English language, an equivalent term is matchet, though it is less commonly known...
s and guns.
Duvalier employed the Tonton Macoutes in a reign of terror against any opponents, including those who proposed progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
social systems. Those who spoke out against Duvalier would disappear at night, or were sometimes attacked in broad daylight. Tonton Macoutes often stoned and burned people alive. Many times the corpses were put on display, often hung in trees for everyone to see. Family members who tried to remove the bodies for proper burial often disappeared themselves, never to be seen again. They were believed to have been abducted and killed by the MVSN, who were called the "Tonton Macoutes" as a result. Anyone who challenged the MVSN risked assassination. Their unrestrained state terrorism
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
was accompanied by corruption, extortion and personal aggrandizement among the leadership.
Luckner Cambronne
Luckner Cambronne
Luckner Cambronne was a high-ranking political figure in François Duvalier's regime in Haiti who some believe to have played a significant role in the early spread of AIDS....
was a particularly fierce head of the “Tonton Macoutes” throughout the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. His cruelty earned him the nickname “Vampire of the Caribbean”. He profited by extortion carried out by his henchmen and by supplying corpses and blood to universities and hospitals in the United States. After Duvalier's death, he was ordered into exile by Duvalier's widow, Simone, and son. Cambronne left Haiti in 1971 for Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, where he died on 20 September 2006 at the age of 77.
Some of the most important members of the Tonton Macoutes were vodou leaders and this religious affiliation gave the Macoutes a sense of unearthly authority in the eyes of the public. From their methods to their choice of clothes, vodou always played an important role in their actions.
The victims of Tonton Macoutes could range from a woman in the poorest of neighborhoods who had the temerity to support an opposing politician to a businessman who refused to “donate” money for public works (which were the source of profit for corrupt officials and even the dictator himself). Tonton Macoutes murdered over 60,000 Haitians.
The Tonton Macoutes were a ubiquitous presence in a rigged 1961 election in which Duvalier was unanimously reelected to another term, and once again in 1964 when Duvalier held a rigged referendum that declared him President for Life
President for Life
President for Life is a title assumed by some dictators to remove their term limit, in the hope that their authority, legitimacy, and term will never be disputed....
.
Legacy
The militia existed under Jean-Claude DuvalierJean-Claude Duvalier
Jean-Claude Duvalier, nicknamed "Bébé Doc" or "Baby Doc" 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...
, the son and successor of François Duvalier, until the younger Duvalier was ousted in 1986. However, massacres led by paramilitary groups spawned from the Macoutes continued during the following decade. The most feared paramilitary group during the 1990s was the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti
Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti
The Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti was a far-rightparamilitary group organized in mid-1993. Its goal was to undermine support for the popular Catholic priest Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who served less than eight months as Haïti's president before being deposed, on 29 September 1991,...
(FRAPH) which Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
journalist Linda Diebel described as modern Tonton Macoutes and not as the political party they claimed to be.)
See also
- L'Homme sur les quaisThe Man by the ShoreThe Man by the Shore is a 1993 Haitian-French drama film directed by Raoul Peck. It was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Jennifer Zubar - Sarah* Toto Bissainthe - Camille Desrouillere* Patrick Rameau - Gracieux Sorel...
(1992), a film by Raoul PeckRaoul PeckRaoul Peck is an award-winning Haitian filmmaker, of both documentary and feature films, and a political activist. Briefly, in the 1990s, he was Haiti's Minister of Culture.-Biography:...
that mentions the Tonton Macoute - Secret policeSecret policeSecret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
- Police statePolice stateA police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
- The Comedians by Graham Greene (1965), a book which outlines the struggle of a former hotel owner against the Tonton Macoute
External links
- Tonton Macoute Militia, photos, Latin American Studies
- William Steif, "Revenge of the Tonton Macoute - Haitian terrorism", The Progressive, May 1993
- 26 Anniversary of the VSN, YouTube