Documentation for Tonton Macoutes Semi-official PGM / Volunteers for National Security
Dec. 25, 1981
The Washington Post
The Regis du Tabac account, through which President Duvalier has reportedly funneled much of the family wealth as well as monies for his "Ton Ton Macoutes," or Volunteers for National Security, as they are now called
Feb. 1, 1982
Newsweek
For many Haitians, the victims of swindles, extortion and abuse at the hands of the Tontons Macoutes, the distinction is an artificial one. Their poverty, they say, is due to a system in which agents of the state exploit the people economically. One 48-year-old Haitian accountant in Miami, asking anonymity because he fears for family back home, charges that Haitian officials expropriate the peasants' farmland with at least passive consent from President for Life Duvalier.
March 27, 1983
The New York Times
However, the militia forces are still believed to be a vital instrument for maintaining stability here. Members of the militia perform police duties and serve as a nationwide intelligence network.
April 16, 1983
The Washington Post
Celebrating the 22nd anniversary of Duvalier family rule, Jean-Claude three years ago called the militia "the linchpin of my government."
His father Francois founded the Tontons Macoutes on coming to power in 1957 as a reliable force for his black revolution to balance off the army, then dominated by the mulatto class that had run Haiti during most of its period of independence.
Nov. 13, 1984
BBC Summary of World Broadcasts
to the extent that the Government, which at one point had said that the Tontons Macoutes no longer existed [words indistinct] Tontons Macoutes are being made more visible to frighten the people.
July 7, 1985
The Washington Post
The Ton-Ton Macoutes are still running around the countryside beating people up without any control."
The Ton-Ton Macoutes, notorious as brutal political enforcers under the elder Duvalier, have been christened Volunteers for Public Security under his son. Diplomats and Haitians agree that their most flagrant abuses have been eliminated. But these sources said the approximately 9,000 political policemen still impose rough controls in the countryside and the capital's slums
Jan. 11, 1986
The Washington Post
In another step likely to enhance the chances of aid, the government's National Radio announced formal dissolution of the Volunteers for National Security, the notorious political police popularly known as Ton-Tons Macoutes that was started by Duvalier's father, Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier. The decree, dated Saturday but published today, said: "The armed forces of Haiti remain the only legal institution responsible for the defense of the integrity of the national territory and the maintenance of order and public security."
Feb. 6, 1986
The Globe and Mail
Formed after a failed military coup in July, 1958, the Tontons,
officially known as the Volunteers for National Security, were intended by
Francois Duvalier to serve as a political counterweight to the army.
They are divided into two ranks, commanders and volunteers. In the
capital, both ranks receive some sort of compensation, but in the interior
they live off what they can extort from the peasantry.
Feb. 7, 1986
The Globe and Mail
The Tontons Macoutes were everywhere. Part political party, part
militia, they numbered about 500,000 at their height in this country of
six million.
Feb. 15, 1986
Courier-Mail
Francois ""Papa Doc" Duvalier created the personal gang of thugs in 1958. Victims of the Tonton Macoutes reign of terror included Roman Catholic priests, political opponents of the Duvaliers, union leaders, students and reporters. Even well-known members of the ruling elite and the Duvalier family were eliminated or disappeared
Nov. 30, 1986
The Washington Post
According to de Ronceray and other Haitians, discontent focuses on the government's failure to hunt down many former leaders of the Ton-Tons Macoutes, the Duvaliers' secret police thought to be responsible for the murder of more than 10,000 Haitians
June 23, 2014
The Independent (London)
On the death of his father, François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, when he was still only 19, Jean-Claude Duvalier, “Baby Doc”, succeeded him as Haiti’s President for Life.
He ruled from 22 April 1971 until 7 February 1986, when he was forced to flee.
