Emmanuel Constant (paramilitary)

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Emmanuel Constant (born October 27, 1956 ), nickname Toto , known in Haiti as "The Devil", is the founder of the paramilitary organization FRAPH (Front Révolutionnaire Armé pour le Progrès d'Haïti) in Haiti, which is responsible for the terrorization of supporters of the Exile President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was installed.

Life

Constant grew up as a member of a privileged Haitian family. His father was General Gerard Emmanuel Constant, who died in 1991 and was Chief of the Army General Staff under the dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier , and his uncle is Bishop Emmanuel Constant . Constant attended universities in Canada and worked briefly as Haitian UN - Diplomat in New York . According to his own statements, he was aiming for the presidency of his country. He speaks several languages ​​including English , French , Spanish, and Haitian Creole . In contrast to other leaders of paramilitary groups, he sought contact with the press and the public. In Haiti he lived in the luxurious villa of his family, where he was happy to receive representatives of the press. He let them spend the night in his garden and gave them T-shirts with FRAPH prints. Constant often appeared armed in public, wearing a blue suit, tie, and walking stick, and sped his car on public roads with his fully automatic rifle bodyguards in the back seat. One of his constant companions was a man known as "Jojo", a former member of the Tonton Macoutes , who was considered a ruthless murderer. At public meetings, Constant presented himself as a follower of voodoo , presented himself as Baron Samedi and had ritual acts carried out in order to intimidate opponents and underpin his claim to power. According to official US reports, Constant was a cocaine user, which he always denied.

Paramilitary activities

From October 1991 to October 1994, Haiti was ruled by the dictator Raoul Cédras , under whom there were numerous human rights violations committed by the Haitian army and the FRAPH. During this time Constant was Secretary General of FRAPH.

Emmanuel Constant has been on the CIA payroll since 1992 . According to the CIA, the relationship is said to have ended in mid-1994. However, the American Embassy in Haiti publicly announced in October 1994 that Constant was still on the CIA's payroll.

Constant was involved in the murder of Haitian Justice Minister Guy Malary , who was ambushed to death on October 14, 1993, along with his bodyguard and driver. According to a CIA note dated October 28, 1993 released through the Center for Constitutional Rights, FRAPH members Louis-Jodel Chamblain , Emmanuel Constant and Gabriel Douzable met with an unidentified military officer on the morning of October 14 to discuss plans to kill Malary.

When an intervention by US troops threatened, Constant showed himself contrary to his custom in military equipment and called for armed resistance. Every member of FRAPH must kill at least one American soldier. He threatened to poison the drinking water and use a powder as a warfare agent, which was made from the bones of AIDS victims.

exile

American troops enabled the return of the democratically elected Aristide government in late 1994. In a public speech made possible by the American embassy, ​​Constant now called on the population to lay down their arms and accept the return of Aristides. He himself wanted to join the democratic opposition . When the angry crowd threatened assault, US soldiers took him to safety in a car. The official American side said that the speech should have contributed to "reconciliation". However, an American official said: "We protected him from the Haitians, and we should have protected the Haitians from him." Constant was placed under house arrest. He took the position that he had guaranteed the stability of Haiti last year and represented the only organization that could take on the role of the opposition and thus guarantee democratic conditions.

In December 1994, Constant received a subpoena. He then went to the Dominican Republic together with his deputy Louis-Jodel Chamblain . Constant entered the United States on December 24, 1994 . Due to public protests, the American immigration and naturalization authorities initiated a deportation procedure.

Constant was arrested by the US immigration authorities in May 1995 and prepared for extradition to Haiti to face charges relating to his involvement in the Raboteau massacre . A judge ordered his deportation to Haiti in September 1995. His lawyers appealed against this . In a December 1995 interview with Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes , Constant stated that he was a paid informant for the CIA from 1991 to 1994. He threatened to divulge secrets regarding the CIA's involvement during the early 1990s.

On instructions from Bill Clinton , Constant was released in June 1996 , apparently in connection with a collusion. Constant, for his part, refused to pursue a constitutional complaint about the legality of his detention. According to officials, his release was an unusual decision made not for legal, but political reasons. The New York Times commented that the United States had done a setback to the democratic process in Haiti. Constant was granted residence and work permits and was directed to take up residence in Queens , New York City, NY , which he was not allowed to leave. He worked as a real estate agent. He was recognized by exiled Haitians, which led to a wave of protests in the Haitian community in New York.

In 1996, the Haitian government announced that it had thwarted another attempted coup. Constant is suspected of being involved.

On November 16, 2000, Constant was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Haitian court for absent participation in the Raboteau massacre.

The Haitian government again demanded Constant's extradition, but to no avail. Extradition requests were rejected by US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush .

In 2005 human rights organizations, including the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), brought charges against Constant for ordering the systematic mass rape of Haitian women. The CJA represented two women who had been raped and tortured by FRAPH and their relatives murdered.

In 2006 Constant was charged with fraud in New York. On October 28, 2008, the New York District Court sentenced him to 12 to 37 years in prison for fraud, aggravated theft and forgery of business records on a number of counts. The verdict highlighted his "lack of remorse, the gravity of the act" and his "heinous activities" in Haiti.

On June 23, 2020, the United States extradited Constant to his homeland so that he could be held accountable for his crimes in Haiti. On July 8, 2020, Serard Gazius, the public prosecutor of the Artibonite department in Gonaïves , stated that the judgment from 2000 “cannot be found”.

literature

swell

  1. ↑ a b c Infamous Haitian Accused of Fraud. In: The New York Times . July 7, 2006, accessed August 5, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e David Grann: Giving "The Devil" His Due. In: The Atlantic . June 2001, accessed August 5, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Sewell Chan: The Saga of 'Toto' Constant. In: The Empire Zone; Politics Across the Region. The New York Times , May 23, 2007, accessed September 1, 2017 .
  4. ^ Human Rights Watch: Haiti: Recycled Soldiers and Paramilitaries on the March
  5. ↑ Jon Ronson : The Psychopaths Are Among Us; A journey to the switching points of power , ISBN 978-3-608-50312-8 , p. 119 ff.
  6. ^ Reed Lindsay: Cold War returns to US backyard Observer, March 7, 2004
  7. ↑ Amnesty International: Perpetrators of past abuses threaten human rights and the reestablishment of the rule of law
  8. ^ Noam Chomsky : US-Haiti ZMag, March 9, 2004
  9. ↑ Chris Thompson: Local Mayor Pursues Exiled Deathmonger. In: East Bay Express. August 30, 2006, accessed August 10, 2017 .
  10. ↑ judgment Case 1: 14-cv-01912-JBW-LB
  11. ↑ Déportation de l'ancien chef du FRAPH Toto Constant ce mardi en Haiti , Haiti Press Network, June 23, 2020, accessed on August 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ Haïti-Justice: les dossiers font défaut, Emmanuel Toto Constant pourrait être libéré , July 8, 2020, accessed on August 20, 2020.
personal data
SURNAME Constant, Emmanuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Haitian paramilitary and wanted terrorist, FRAPH founder
DATE OF BIRTH October 27, 1956