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Leaked Cables Reveal US Attempts to Micromanage Haiti

Cables obtained from WikiLeaks document the influence the US Embassy sought over the nation in an expanse of nearly seven years—from ten months before the 2004 coup d’etat to just after the earthquake.

Press Room

June 3, 2011

What nearly 2,000 recently-leaked Haiti-related diplomatic cables reveal are efforts by the US government to micromanage the Caribbean nation in a way that benefits US—not Haitian—interests. The Nation is partnering with the Haitian newspaper Haïti Liberté for a series of reports on the influence the US Embassy wielded over the nation over a period of nearly seven years—from ten months before the 2004 coup d’etat to just after the 2010 earthquake.

The Nation’s Dan Coughlin joined Democracy Now! along with Haïti Liberté reporter Kim Ives this morning to discuss the first exposé in the series, which outlines US attempts—in concert with Exxon Mobile and Chevron—to halt an oil agreement between Haiti and Venezuela that would save the Haitian government $100 million per year—ten percent of the government’s budget.

Check back on Wednesday for the next story in the series on TheNation.com.

—Sara Jerving

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