“I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers…I was a racketeer; a gangster for capitalism.”
— U.S. Maj. General Smedley Butler

The current crisis in Haiti is the consequence of more than 200 years of gangsterism by the U.S. and other capitalist powers.

• 1915-1934: Following the assassination of President Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam, the U.S. invaded and seized control over Haitian finances in the name of “stability” for U.S. interests (Foreign Affairs, 12/1/22). Then it violently suppressed uprisings against the U.S. occupation.
• 1994: After decades of U.S. money, weapons, and troops to support the brutal, anti-communist Duvalier gang—which massacred as many as 60,000 people —President Bill Clinton sent 20,000 troops to Haiti under “Operation Uphold Democracy.”
• 2004:Partnering with France, Canada, and Chile, the U.S. invaded Haiti to escort President Jean-Bertrand Aristide out after the CIA orchestrated a coup to oust him (Guardian, 3/13/22). The troops remained until they were replaced by the U.N. Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which became infamous for mass rape (Al Jazeera, 10/6/22). This 13-year occupation also brought a siege of cholera that killed 10,000 people and sickened more than 850,000 (AP News, 10/18/22).

THIS is what the capitalist bosses mean by “order” and “stability.” The working class in Haiti has fought back at every step. They fought enslavers, imperialists, super-exploitative industry bosses, the cholera-spreading MINUSTAH, and the Tonton Macoute death squads. Haiti is a harbinger of the rulers’ decay, an example of what’s to come as the worldwide crisis of capitalism deepens and intensifies. There are no certainties in this world, except one: Our class will continue to fight.