July 28, 1915–July 28, 2025: 110 Years of Interference, For What Results?

PORT-AU-PRINCE.— One hundred ten years after the landing of American troops, the question of foreign interference in Haiti remains a burning issue, at once historical, political, and existential. From the military occupation of 1915 to 1934 to UN or bilateral missions during the contemporary period, Haiti remains marked by unprecedented political and security dependence. But after more than a century of direct or disguised guardianship, it is time to ask the uncomfortable question: WHAT ARE THE RESULTS? Independence Confiscated Since the 1915 Landing When the Yankees set foot on Haitian soil in 1915, under the pretext of protecting American interests and ensuring stability, Haiti had already achieved its independence more than a century prior. But this independence, envied, punished, and contained, was never fully respected by the great powers. At that time, the United States imposed a new Constitution in 1918, re-establishing land ownership rights for foreigners, and took control of public finances until… 1947. The Haitian state, as a sovereign apparatus, has since been emptied of its substance. And today it is an impoverished country, stripped of its human resources: either by brain drain or by the corruption of state officials. More than a century of systematic plunder. From Military Occupation to Diplomatic Occupation, a Trojan Horse in the Haitian Establishment Certainly, the Marines left the territory in 1934, but the shadow of interference never truly dissipated. It simply changed its face: conditional aid, budgetary dictates, electoral supervision, militarized humanitarian interventions… in short, they implanted their Trojan horse right in the heart of the Haitian administration. MINUSTAH, which arrived in 2004 and remained until 2017, is one of the most recent symbols of this dependence. It left behind a bitter taste, mixed with scandals (rapes, illegitimate children, cholera, diplomatic immunity) and patent failures in terms of security. Even today, it is the UN Security Council and Washington that decide the broad outlines of what is called "political transition" in Haiti. It is still up to them to decide on security needs, constitutional changes, elections, etc. A Guardianship Economy, a Democracy on Life Support Despite the injection of billions of dollars since 1990 (more than 13 billion according to some estimates), the country remains mired in poverty, food insecurity, and institutional collapse. So-called development projects have often been conceived outside of local realities, serving private or foreign geopolitical interests. The Haitian state has been weakened, delegitimized, and circumvented. Civil society, for its part, struggles to emerge in the face of an omnipresent foreign diplomacy that chooses its interlocutors, finances its allies, and marginalizes voices genuinely rooted in popular dynamics. Shared Responsibility, but a Glaring Imbalance It is equally crucial, the inability to build a functional state. But this local failure cannot serve as an excuse for the "arsonist firefighter" policy practiced by certain powers. For too often, those who denounce the weakness of the Haitian state have contributed to weakening, destroying, or instrumentalizing it. Haitians have always suffered from a leucophobia so strange that they would like to resemble their oppressor. "Nap bay li jan blan an mande l la"… thus, Haitians are ready to give what they do not possess to satisfy the white man in all areas of their country's life. Towards What Real Sovereignty? In 2024, Haiti, once again under international constraint, welcomed a new multinational security mission led by Kenya. Does this mark the beginning of a new cycle of assistance or the continuation of a disguised occupation logic? For many Haitians, the answer is already known. One hundred ten years after 1915, has Haiti truly recovered its sovereignty? Or does it reproduce it in a mutilated, tolerated, conditional form? The answer would be so hurtful that one would not want to hear it, for fear of twisting the knife in the wound or for lack of courage to confront our own demons. Breaking with Dependence and Rethinking Alliances At a time when the country is desperately seeking a way out of its multidimensional crisis, one thing becomes evident: no lasting solution will come from external intervention, outside of national consent validating a Haitian dream. Interference has not built a state; it has weakened it. It has not healed the nation; it has fractured it. Salvation will only come from an endogenous refoundation, rooted in local vital forces, supported but not dictated from outside. Haiti does not need guardians, but partners. And above all, it needs to be allowed to breathe, live its life, think about its future according to its history, chart its trajectory, follow its path, and especially develop in human dignity and participate fully in global dynamics. Jean Mapou