Overview:
Haiti’s political instability is not only a result of internal corruption and gang violence, but also decades of foreign intervention—particularly from the United States. The writer urges that the real solutions must come from within Haiti, not from outside powers.
For more than a century, the United States has shaped Haiti’s politics to protect its own interests, toppling presidents, backing unpopular leaders, and undermining the country’s right to govern itself. Haiti’s crisis is not just the product of corrupt leaders and violent gangs. Until Haitians decide to take charge of their own future free from U.S. interference, stability will remain out of reach.
Haiti has been trapped in a crisis for years. Gangs control more than 90% of Port-au-Prince, the capital. The country has no president and instead is run by a transitional presidential council. In just five years, it has had six prime ministers. To many, corruption and violence are the leading causes. With many blaming long-standing corruption and gang violence for Haiti’s instability, the real question is: who benefits from this instability, and how much of it has been fueled by foreign influence?
Haiti has long faced unstable governments. The country was under the infamous rule of François “Papa Doc” Duvalier from 1957 to 1971, and of his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, from 1971 to 1986. Under their regime, numerous human rights abuses and oppression of dissent took place. After the Duvalier regime, the country has also endured a dozen coups.
Perhaps most telling were the two most significant events that occurred in 1991 and 2004, when Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haiti’s first democratically elected president, was removed from power. In both cases, the U.S. played a key role in undermining his presidency and Haiti’s sovereignty. By working closely with Army General Raoul Cédras to consolidate his power in 1991, they ensured Aristide would not return after his short eight-month stint in office.
Additionally, a New York Times report at the time revealed that Cédras had received U.S. funding and training to overthrow Aristide. Again, the U.S. intervened in 2004 by flying Aristide to the Central African Republic to evacuate him as rebels encircled him, following a coup attempt by Guy Philippe and Louis Jodel Chamblain, leader of the former paramilitary group Revolutionary Front for Advancement and Progress of Haiti (FRAPH) that terrorized urban neighborhoods supporting Aristide between 1991 and 1994.
The circumstances of the evacuation are contentious. Aristide still maintains that he was forcibly kidnapped, while the U.S. insists that the evacuation was voluntary.
The U.S. hasn’t just failed to support democracy in Haiti – it has actively undermined it.
If Aristide initiated so many reforms in health care and education, why has the U.S. supported the overthrow of his government, which arguably stood for the United States’ values of democracy and liberty? The answer is money.
Aristide raised the minimum wage in 1995 from 15 to 36 gourdes per day and again in 2003 from 36 to 70 gourdes per day. The U.S. manufacturing companies that relied on cheap labor were furious. After his removal, as a condition for aid, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) demanded that Haiti reduce its foreign rice tariff to 3%. In contrast, rice farmers in the U.S. were heavily subsidized, allowing them to turn a massive profit by flooding Haiti’s markets. U.S. policies forced cheap American rice into Haiti, which ultimately destroyed local farming and deepened Haiti’s dependence.
Since then, the last vote to raise the minimum wage happened in 2009, when Haitian Parliament passed a law raising the daily minimum wage to 200 gourdes ($5 a day, or about 62 cents/hour). However, when the then-president, René Garcia Préval, was pressured by U.S.-backed manufacturing sector leaders, he was forced to compromise and create a tiered system that kept textile workers’ wages at $3/day.
Even after the compromise and creation of the tiered system, the implementation of the law faced delays and disputes, and the U.S. intervened to keep wages low until recently, just before the assassination of Jovenel Moise in 2021.
U.S intervention in Haiti has happened many times historically, where the U.S. meddles with their affairs and overthrows leaders who put their country first instead of prioritizing U.S. business interests.
Yes, U.S. involvement has sometimes brought short-term calm. But every intervention leaves Haiti weaker and more divided. Each time, the country loses more control over its own future.
Corruption and gangs are rooted in the same interventions, which weaken institutions and empower illegitimate leaders. They do not exist in a vacuum. They have been fueled by decades of foreign interference. Haiti must be allowed to build its own path.
That does not mean the United States should stand aside. People are navigating daily shortages of food, medicine, and safe shelter, and immediate support can save lives. But the deeper crisis is not charity—it is governance.
What Haiti needs in 2026 is a responsible, legitimate government capable of advocating for its people with dignity, securing international support that strengthens institutions, rebuilds infrastructure, and creates the conditions for Haitians to work, produce, and thrive. Assistance should reinforce sovereignty and long-term capacity, not reduce the country to a permanent humanitarian case.
Haiti has the right to self-govern. It is the people who should decide their own future, free from foreign hands.
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