After six days of intermittent violence and confusion, the streets of the capital of Port-au-Prince were still tense late last week. Rival military troops maintained an uneasy standoff after nearly a week of exchanging shouted insults and machine-gun rounds. As the country slid toward chaos, a state of emergency was declared, independent radio stations were shut down and curfews were imposed.
The precarious situation began on April 2, a few days after four high- ranking military officers were sacked, allegedly as part of a drug and corruption crackdown. That move sparked a simmering revolt within the military. Under the leadership of...