ABSTRACT
The case of sanctions against Haiti provides an opportunity to reflect deeply, to analyze and to question the use of economic sanctions as a means to resolve political problems. The Haitian people were well aware of their own limitations, which rendered them defenseless against the repression unleashed by the Haitian armed forces and their paramilitary allies. After decades of dictatorship, the Haitian people sought to reverse their fate through nonviolent struggle. The elections of 1990 were recognized internationally as fair and democratic. In Haiti's case, the restoration of democracy and the return of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the ostensible goals of sanctions, stood in contrast to the concerns of regional powers, namely the prevention of boat people reaching their shores. The Balaguer government hastily complied with the Organization of American States (OAS) and United Nations (UN) sanctions by deploying more than 10,000 troops along the border with Haiti, enabling the Dominican authorities to call on the UN to provide technical support.
