The Tonton Macoute

Tonton Macoute

The Tonton Macoutes (singular Tonton Macoute referring to a member thereof; or Ton Ton Macoute) was a Haitian militia force under the control of François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier.

The militia was created in 1959, modelled on the Italian fascist Blackshirts, and to a greater extent the German Brownshirts. The militia was renamed officially in 1971 the Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (MVSN). It was notorious for its widespread and brutal oppression of political dissidents.

The Macoute were led by Duvalier's second in command, Luckner Cambronne, who died on September 29, 2006 [1] in Miami, Florida at the age of 77.

Origin of the name

In Haitian tradition, as of that of other nations, good children are visited at Christmas by Uncle Christmas, known locally as Tonton Noel (Father Christmas in other nations). However, the bad children are snatched by Uncle Gunnysack, or Uncle Knapsack. Translated literally from Creole: Tonton (Uncle) Macoute (gunnysack). The term "Tonton Macoutes" is equivalent in Haiti to the "bogeyman".

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, and was noted due to his particular involvement in the fight against yaws. After an attempted coup against him in 1958, Duvalier rewrote the Haitian constitution, making himself a President for Life. In 1959, he created the Tonton Macoute, which was granted automatic amnesty through his powers for any crime they committed.

Reputation

The Tonton macoutes were known for wearing dark glasses, wielding machetes, and leaving their victims hanging in a public place as a warning to others. They cultivated the image of being voodoo demons or zombies.

It is alleged that the death squad continued to operate in Haiti, through 2000. There is a mention to the "tonton macoute" on the Showtime television show, "Dexter". British standup comedian Bill Bailey references Tonton Macoute in his live show 'Part Troll' when he says "That's true, Hitler was a vegetarian. Just goes to show, vegetarianism is not always a good thing. Can in some extreme cases lead to genocide. It's like the Tonton Macoute machete maintenance class, violent but instructive."