Word: avril
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...country's leader. He and Franck Romain, mayor of the capital city of Port-au- Prince, were taken to Haiti's international airport to be put on a Sunday flight to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, where they have been granted political asylum. Brigadier General Prosper Avril, a Haitian power broker who had close ties to Duvalier, declared himself the new President of Haiti...
...poor neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince. But when Namphy returned to the presidential palace, soldiers blocked his way and arrested him. Throughout the evening, sporadic gunfire could be heard in various parts of the capital, as rival army factions fired warning shots at one another. For now at least, Avril seems to have persuaded the various factions to accept his leadership...
...coup marked the end of a tumultuous tenure for Namphy, who took over after Duvalier fled the country in February 1986. The general had surrendered nominal power to a civilian President, Leslie Manigat, last February, but Namphy and the military seized control once again in June. Ironically, Avril was widely believed to be the guiding force behind Namphy's regime. But Avril may have decided that growing public outrage at the heavy-handed tactics of Namphy's government made the time ripe for a change in leadership. Both Namphy and Romain had been blamed for brutal violence directed at opponents...
...army compound across the street from the church had watched the assault without interceding, identified many of the attackers as men who work for Romain, a tough former colonel who told Radio Metropole that Aristide was a rabble-rouser who got what he deserved. Haitians now hope that Avril's new government will put a stop to the bloodletting...
...speech to members of the Presidential Guard at the palace, Avril declared himself president and promoted himself to lieutenant general...