Haitian army

In November 11, 1915, the Haitian President Sudre Dartiguenave was forced to sign a treaty with ratification by the Haitian Senate The document legitimized the US occupation and put Haitian finances and government under the control of the US for the next 20 years. The controversial amendment also aimed to disbanding the Haitian army and permit foreign land ownership that had been outlawed since the Haitian Revolution. However, the reluctant lawmakers rejected that notion and rather began drafting a new anti-American constitution, but under U.S pressure, that bill was kept undecided by President Dartiguenave till 1929. In 1929, a series of strikes and uprisings against the U.S initiated the withdrawal of U.S Marines from Haiti. In 1934, in concert with "Good Neighbor Policy" introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, U.S Marine was officially withdrawn from Haiti except retaining fews for maintaining economic connections.

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Here is a picture to remind you of Haitian Military Leopard Corp during Jean Claude Duvalier reign.

Haitian Military Leopard Corp in Jean Claude Duvalier Reign

In 1973, the former Haitian Dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier ("Baby Doc") created 'Leopards' (Corps des Léopards) a personal security force and counterinsurgency unit. The Leopards counterinsurgency unit was created with the U.S support; its participating members required a higher education level to join. With its creation, it took over most of the functions of Haiti's police force. The Leopard Corps consisting 700-members, a tactical unit was based on the outskirts of the capital in Pétion-ville; it was equipped with relatively modern tool for responding to internal threats. Its counterinsurgency functions were often suppressed. Baby Doc created 'Corps des Léopards' in an attempt to balance two powers between the Haitian Armed Forces and the Tonton Macoutes (became the Volontaires de la Securite Nationale or VSN after 1962). However, 'Corps des Léopards' was disbanded within a month of an attempted coup in 1989.

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