Why the US Owes Haiti Billions -- The Briefest History

[marble falls]

Why the US Owes Haiti Billions — The Briefest History
03/19/2010 05:12 am ET Updated May 25, 2011


Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, stated his foreign policy view as the “Pottery Barn rule”: if you break it, you own it.



https://www.huffpost.com/entry/why-the-us-owes-haiti-bil_b_426260

-snip-

After the 1804 revolution, Haiti was the subject of a crippling economic embargo by France and the US. US sanctions lasted until 1863. France ultimately used its military power to force Haiti to pay reparations for the slaves who were freed. The reparations were 150 million francs. (France sold the entire Louisiana territory to the US for 80 million francs!)

Haiti was forced to borrow money from banks in France and the US to pay reparations to France. A major loan from the US to pay off the French was finally paid off in 1947. The current value of the money Haiti was forced to pay to French and US banks? Over $20 Billion.

The US occupied and ruled Haiti by force from 1915 to 1934. President Woodrow Wilson sent troops to invade in 1915. Revolts by Haitians were put down by US military, killing over 2,000 in one skirmish alone. For the next nineteen years, the US controlled customs in Haiti, collected taxes, and ran many governmental institutions. How many billions were siphoned off by the US during these 19 years?

From 1957 to 1986 Haiti was forced to live under US backed dictators “Papa Doc” and “Baby Doc” Duvlaier. The US supported these dictators economically and militarily because they did what the US wanted and were politically “anti-communist” — now translatable as against human rights for their people. Duvalier stole millions from Haiti and ran up hundreds of millions in debt that Haiti still owes. Ten thousand Haitians lost their lives. Estimates say that Haiti owes $1.3 billion in external debt and that 40% of that debt was run up by the US-backed Duvaliers.

Thirty years ago Haiti imported no rice; today, Haiti imports nearly all its rice. Though Haiti was the sugar growing capital of the Caribbean, it now imports sugar as well. Why? The US and the US dominated world financial institutions — the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank — forced Haiti to open its markets to the world. Then the US dumped millions of tons of US subsidized rice and sugar into Haiti, undercutting their farmers and ruining Haitian agriculture. By ruining Haitian agriculture, the US has forced Haiti into becoming the third largest world market for US rice. Good for US farmers, bad for Haiti.

-snip-



(For more on the history of exploitation of Haiti by the US see: Paul Farmer, The Uses of Haiti; Peter Hallward, Damning the Flood; and Randall Robinson, An Unbroken Agony).

By Bill Quigley. Bill is Legal Director for the Center for Constitutional Rights and a long-time Haiti human rights advocate. [e-mail]

[Phoenix61]

1. The US did the same thing with corn and Mexico.

Good for US farmers terrible for Mexican corn farmers.

[marble falls]

2. We do it here in the US. You tax dollars support cheap sugar. Cheap sugar makes Pepsi, Coke ...

... General Mills very wealthy and very happy banking your tax dollars.

[multigraincracker]

3. Sugar and gambling in Cuba.

Oil in Iran and opium in China. They hate us, not for our freedom, they hate us for stealing their freedoms.
Not taught in our schools.

[crickets]

4. K&R for visibility.