LONDON — A confidential 2006 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti, made public by WikiLeaks, said the United States viewed the possible return of either of the two exiled Haitian ex-presidents, Jean-Bertrand Aristide or Jean-Claude Duvalier, as "unhelpful." But one of them, former president-for-life Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, is back in Haiti, probably with Washington's approval.
Baby Doc took over the dictatorship from his dying father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, at the age of 19 in 1971, and ruled with same brutality and greed as his father until he was driven from power and into exile in 1986. What can have made him think it was a good idea to come back now?
If you believe the headlines, he has made a dreadful mistake. On Jan. 18, only two days after his return, Baby Doc was brought before a court in Port-au-Prince and charged with official corruption, embezzlement of funds, money laundering and assassination. But things are not always what they seem.