CIA Covert Action in Haiti Election

Horhey · Sep 13, 2012

US planners see the Liberation Theology clergy as "subversives" because of they advocate a "preferential option for the poor." An official set of U.S. Army School of the Americas talking points in 1999 declares:

U.S. ARMY SCHOOL OF THE AMERICAS

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Liberation Theology..was defeated with the assistance of the U.S. Army.
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From the article:

"It needs to be known that there is some history there" between the CIA and Aristide, said a source who was working in a senior position for the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time the CIA and Congress were fighting over covert operations in Haiti. "There were those in the CIA who were not pleased with him (Aristide) in the past and don't want him to be successful now." (Domino Theory)

Aristide first came to prominence in Haiti as a proponent of liberation theology, which seeks to blend the teachings of Christ with a doctrine of political revolution by the poor against the established order. Liberation theology took hold not only in Haiti but among priests in poor parishes throughout many other Latin American countries.

Asked why the CIA might have sought to oppose Aristide, the congressional source said: "Liberation theology proponents are not too popular at the agency. Maybe second only to the Vatican for not liking liberation theology are the people at (CIA headquarters in) Langley."
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The Los Angeles Times: CIA's Aid Plan Would Have Undercut Aristide in '87-'88 : Haiti:

But Senate panel stymied agency's effort to boost candidates, counter his call for vote boycott.

WASHINGTON The CIA once tried to intervene in Haiti's elections with a covert-action program that would have undercut the political strength of its current president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, according to congressional sources with firsthand knowledge of the incident.

But the CIA's effort was stymied when the Senate Intelligence Committee ordered the CIA to halt the program, under which the agency tried to channel money for the use of some of the candidates in the 1987-88 Haitian elections.

Aristide was not a candidate at the time but assailed the military-controlled process, calling for radical change and apparently worrying some U.S. officials.

Two current and former U.S. intelligence officials acknowledged that the CIA developed a covert-action plan for intervention in Haiti's elections and that the plan was blocked in Congress.

"We were engaged in covert action on behalf of the National Security Council," said one former high-level U.S. intelligence official who was directly involved in the covert-action plan and the dispute with Congress. "We were involved in a range of support for a range of candidates."

"It needs to be known that there is some history there" between the CIA and Aristide, said a source who was working in a senior position for the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time the CIA and Congress were fighting over covert operations in Haiti.

"There were those in the CIA who were not pleased with him (Aristide) in the past and don't want him to be successful now."

Aristide first came to prominence in Haiti as a proponent of liberation theology, which seeks to blend the teachings of Christ with a doctrine of political revolution by the poor against the established order. Liberation theology took hold not only in Haiti but among priests in poor parishes throughout many other Latin American countries.

Asked why the CIA might have sought to oppose Aristide, the congressional source said: "Liberation theology proponents are not too popular at the agency. Maybe second only to the Vatican for not liking liberation theology are the people at (CIA headquarters in) Langley."

Aristide was not a candidate in Haiti's 1987-88 elections. At the time, he was a charismatic priest with a strong following in the poorest slums of Haiti. He denounced the military-dominated election and called upon Haitians for a "real revolution" against the entire process.

Aristide's activities figured prominently in the elections and the American response to them, in which U.S. officials showed a strong antipathy to Aristide.

As the campaign began, the CIA was supporting or preparing to support particular candidates.

The Haitian elections were supposed to be held Nov. 29, 1987, but they collapsed in violence when 34 people died on election day--some as they were standing in line to vote. In early January, 1988, a new ballot was held and the candidate favored by Haiti's military government won, but he was ousted later that year in a military coup.

Aristide had urged a boycott of the elections, saying, "The army is our first enemy." By helping to finance some of the candidates, the CIA apparently hoped to strengthen those candidates' position and to diminish Aristide's attempt to have a low turnout, which would have reduced the election's validity.
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CIA Covert Action in Haiti Election

Horhey Well-Known Member

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CIA Covert Action in Haiti Election

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