Haiti: Invasion In Miniature

Some reports said they came by sea. By other accounts, they forded the Massacre River from the Dominican Republic. One way or the other, in the hot, flat northeast corner of Haiti one morning last week, a band of Haitian exiles led by former army officers waded back into their homeland. Still dripping wet, silver-haired General Léon Cantave, 53, quickly organized his meager forces. Then they all marched off to overthrow, or at least harass, François (“Papa Doc”) Duvalier, Haiti’s brutal dictator.

The attempt made more headlines than it did progress. Cantave’s men took two tiny peasant villages, Meyac and Dérac. From there the invasion force pushed on to Fort Liberté. The garrison fired on the invaders, and the invaders fired back. After hours of sporadic gunplay, the invaders retreated into the hills, perhaps to fight another day.