March 1st marks the anniversary of the US backed 2004 coup vs Haiti’s first democratically elected government under Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Aristide was ousted in the 2004 coup after right-wing ex-army paramilitaries invaded the country from across the Dominican border. The United States helped orchestrate the coup against him. Aristide was later forced into exile in the Central African Republic and South Africa. The tactics that were used to remove Aristide from power twice are almost identical to the ones being used against Venezuela’s Maduro today.


Today 19 years later, Haiti continues to be destabilized under de facto Prime Minister Ariel Henry, the country is facing a resurfacing of cholera and an uptick in gang crime. We speak to organizers on the ground in Haiti to hear their perspectives: including Edouard “Pacha” Vorbe, founder and co-director of Fanmi Lavalas. Since 1998, Pacha Vorbe has been an active member of Fanmi Lavalas, the political organization headed by former President Jean Bertrand Aristide and supported by the vast majority of impoverished people in Haiti. As well as Pierre Labossiere, one of the most respected progressive voices on Haitian politics. Pierre Labossiere has dedicated his entire adult life advocating for the working poor in Haiti. Through the Haiti Action Committee, an organization that he co-founded, Labossiere has tirelessly championed grassroots efforts to improve education, bring about social justice, and develop a stable democracy for the people of his native country.