Elite Class - Haiti Observer Blog

A secret US Embassy cable has reported that members of the Haitian elite used the Haitian National Police as private army to drive the 2004 coup d'etat.

Business organizations and the few elite group purchased arms and ammunitions and gave them to police forces, equipping them for the February 29, 2004 coup that removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power.

The overthrowing of Artiste was accompanied by several other changes. The ruling party, Fanmi Lavalas was repressed and a US-supported governance was installed. A 9000 UN militia known as UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was put in place.

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WikiLeaks has revealed the collusion of the U.S., UN, and Haiti's richest business leaders in a plot to buy weaponry and bullets from arms dealers on the streets of Port-au-Prince. Informant and businessman Fritz Mevs implicated Reginald Boulos, Haitian Chamber of Commerce president, in the secret deal to buy and distribute weapons to the Haitian National Police (HNP).

The private sector has been frustrated and anxious about the port and other industrial sites in Port-au-Prince being unprotected from criminal activity. Mevs, concerned about the illegal purchase of arms, contacted James Foley, former U.S. Ambassador to Haiti to alert him to the situation. Mevs also asked the U.S. Embassy to develop a program for the legal sale of arms to the HNP.

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Clifford Brandt, son to a prominent Haitian businessman, was locked up on Monday following allegations of kidnapping.

The matter is being investigated by Haitian police. Authorities on Wednesday said Clifford Brandt played a central role in the kidnapping of two children.

Frantz Lerebours, the police spokesman said the arrest of Clifford Brandt was because he was a suspect for having been involved in the kidnapping of two children of a family in Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince.

Brandt led the investigating policemen to the place where the two children were held. The police freed the children and arrested Brandt.

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A secret US Embassy cable has reported that members of the Haitian elite used the Haitian National Police as private army to drive the 2004 coup d'etat.

Business organizations and the few elite group purchased arms and ammunitions and gave them to police forces, equipping them for the February 29, 2004 coup that removed President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from power.

The overthrowing of Artiste was accompanied by several other changes. The ruling party, Fanmi Lavalas was repressed and a US-supported governance was installed. A 9000 UN militia known as UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) was put in place.

Read more →  

Despite Haiti being the poorest of poor countries, it has a percentage of very rich elite who control the economy and the governance of the country.

In such a difficult social economic environment, the few wealthy families live in a class of their own; tiered, Malibu-style homes above in the hills of Port-au-Prince.

In the 1980's reports show that the upper class in Haiti constituted of 2 percent of the total population. However, the 2 percent controlled about 44 percent of the total national income.

Though the elite percentage is small it has the biggest share of the economy. The top six richest families in Haiti are: Madsen, Brandt, Lacombe, Gardere, Mevs and Bigio.

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When talking about breweries in Haiti, Brasserie National D'Haiti (BRANA) would surely come up. Why? Because it is the leading brewery and bottler, as well as the number one Caribbean beer producer in the country. Michael Madsen, a Haitian whose family was considered one of the richest clans that time, established BRANA in 1973. His family came to Haiti from Denmark in the latter years of the 19th century. For almost 40 years, BRANA has also been managing the production and distribution of PepsiCo International products in Haiti. It covers popular soft drink brands, including 7up, Pepsi, and Teem.

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The earthquake of 2010 has left most of Haiti in ruins. But as the years went by, the country that has once been shattered by natural disasters and political turmoil seems to be recovering and developing its economic, political, and social sectors. In a very recent report, the industry of private security has become a booming trend in the country as the number of companies who provide such service continues to dramatically increase since 2010.

The number of private security firms has been rapidly developing at a rate of about eight percent per year. Currently, these firms are totaled to be at about 41 and comprise of 12,000 guards that ensure the safety of several institutions and individuals in the Haiti. What is the reason behind this sudden trend? The 2010 earthquake which left the country on its knees provided an increase in international relations where international biggies such as the United Nations needed to hire thousands more of personnel to ensure the success of their peacekeeping mission in Haiti. In addition, the ongoing political conflicts and economic inequality apparent in the nation has made wealthy individuals and families paranoid to the possibility of theft and kidnapping, thus hiring private guards for their safety.

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We just received a videotape raising the issue of race in the Haiti 2010 Presidential election. The main question, according to Mr. Wilner Nau who produced this videotape was:
How can we Haitian, with over 90% of the population being of African descent, elect a White Man in 2010? Mr. Nau further stated that Haiti is the first Black independent nation in the Caribbean. Over 100,000 Haitians were killed to put the white people out of the country. For a country that killed White people to get its independence, Mr. Nau would like to know what to say the next time a Jamaican, people from Trinidad and Tobago, or anyone who is working with him asks him the question: "What's up with your White President"

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