Louis Jodel Chamblain

Louis Jodel Chamblain was born either in 1953 or 1954. He is a military leader who has won many medals in the army though to some he is a fraudulent war leader. In 1987, he allegedly headed government death squads that interrupted a planned election that would have marked the transition to civilian rule. In all, 34 voters were killed, and the election was cancelled.

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Civilian elections did take place in 1990, in which Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected, but a military coup in which Louis Jodel Chamblain was involved overthrew Aristide in 1991. He has undergone military training in the United States. Immediately following the coup, his reputation for brutality grew further as he is reported to have been responsible for thousands of murders of Aristide followers. He formed a paramilitary organization, the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH), in 1993 as tensions grew between supporters of Aristide's reinstatement and supporters of the military government.

With the end of the military regime and restoration of Aristide (following U.S. intervention) in 1994, Louis Jodel Chamblain went into exile in the Dominican Republic. He was convicted in absentia for his involvement in the murder of Antoine, a well-known pro-democracy activist. In 2004 he returned from exile and led a troop of 50 men and took siege the city of Hinche from the Haitian police.

Following Chamblain's return and the collapse of Aristide's government in 2004, Amnesty International called for UN peacekeepers to arrest him for his alleged participation in various war crimes in 1987, 1991, and 1993-1994. In the same year he yielded and was charged in a court of law but was released from prison in 2005 for good conduct. He later emerged again from exile in 2011 to welcome Jean-Claude Duvalier' as chief of security.

Louis Jodel Chamblain, exile, military leader, coup, Haiti
Louis Jodel Chamblain was a Haitian military leader with a bad streak.

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