Tonton Macoute

The Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (MVSN), or (Militia of) National Security Volunteers, was commonly called the "Tonton Macoutes". It was a Haitian militia/secret police force created in 1959 and reporting directly to François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier.

The VSN were led by Duvalier's second-in-command, Luckner Cambronne, who died on 20 September 2006, in Miami, Florida at the age of 77. [ [http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/obituaries/15634693.htm "Luckner Cambronne", Obituary, "Miami Herald"] ] After Duvalier's fall in 1986 the VSN army was disbanded. Some of them took on the roles as rebels during political turmoil up until 2000.

Origin of the name

The name "Tonton Macoute" (literally translates as "Uncle Gunnysack") originated from Haitian Creole mythology. It was the name of a bogeyman who on Christmas Eve snatches bad children from their beds and makes them disappear forever. "Tonton Noël" (Father Christmas, equivalent to that of Santa Claus in western nations) visits the good children and rewards them for their behavior. Because the MVSN used intimidation and threats, as well as physically attacking and "disappearing" people, they were referred to as "Tonton Macoutes".

François Duvalier

François Duvalier (better known as "Papa Doc") came to power in 1957, as a democratically elected leader on a populist platform. He had previously served as Minister of Health. He led a campaign against the widespread eye disease of yaws.

After an attempted coup against him in 1958, Duvalier rewrote the Haitian constitution, making himself a President for Life. Believing the Army was planning to overthrow him (as they had previous leaders), he disbanded all law enforcement agencies in Haiti, including the army. He executed all high-ranking Generals. To keep law enforcement completely loyal to his own ruling family, in 1959 he created a private security force, the "Tonton Macoutes", who were granted automatic amnesty through his powers for any crime they committed.

Cultural references

*Graham Greene's novel "The Comedians" (1966)
*Film based on "The Comedians" (1967), starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor and Alec Guinness. Paul Ford and Lillian Gish had supporting roles as a Presidential candidate and wife.
* Episode 9 "Father Knows Best" of Season 1 of Showtime television series "Dexter" (2006)

ee also

*Boubou Macoutes

References

External links

* [http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/tontons.htm Tonton Macoute Militia, photos] , Latin American Studies
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_n5_v57/ai_13705082 William Steif, "Revenge of the Tonton Macoute - Haitian terrorism"] , "The Progressive", May 1993 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQxcRPPiaxY]

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