Invade Haiti, Wall Street Urged. The U.S. Obliged.

Supported by

Continue reading the main story

Invade Haiti, Wall Street Urged. The U.S. Obliged.

The long occupation of Haiti began with a drumbeat from the bank that became Citigroup, decades of diplomatic correspondence and other records show.

By Selam Gebrekidan,Matt Apuzzo,Catherine Porter and Constant Mheut

May 20, 2022, 4:22 p.m. ET

Lire en franais

In the drowsy hours of a December afternoon, eight American Marines strolled into the headquarters of Haitis national bank and walked out with $500,000 in gold, packed in wooden boxes.

They drove the loot by wagon to the shore, past American soldiers in civilian clothes who kept watch along the route. Once at the water, they loaded the boxes and sped to an awaiting gunboat.

The gold was in the vault of a Wall Street bank within days.

The operation took place in 1914 a precursor to the full-scale invasion of Haiti. American forces took over the country the following summer and ruled it with brute force for 19 years, one of the longest military occupations in American history. Even after the soldiers left in 1934, Haiti remained under the control of American financial officers who pulled the countrys purse strings for another 13 years.

Invading Haiti was necessary, the United States said. The country was so poor and unstable, the explanation went, that if the United States didnt take over, some other power would in Americas backyard, no less. Secretary of State Robert Lansing also portrayed the occupation as a civilizing mission to end the anarchy, savagery and oppression in Haiti, convinced that, as he once wrote, the African race are devoid of any capacity for political organization.