SUMMARY
The Military faction (forces of Himmler Rebu and Guy Francois) comprised dissident military personnel from the elite Leopard Corps and Dessalines Battalion, who mounted an unsuccessful coup against the Government of Haiti in April 1989. Their coup attempt was triggered by a U.S. backed crackdown on drug trafficking in the military that had resulted in the dismissal of four senior officers. Disgruntled by this, the Military faction claimed that President Prosper Avril was instating himself as a dictator and had failed to manage Haiti’s economic crisis. Some sources report that the Military faction was also motivated by their support for the return of the previously governing Duvalier regime whilst others state that the faction leaders sought to remove the President to seize power for themselves.
The Military faction included 450 troops from the Leopard Corps; an elite Haitian military unit trained for counterinsurgency by the US during the Duvalier government regime. It also included troops from the Dessalines battalion, which was known to harbor loyalists of the Duvalier regime. The Dessalines battalion had 650 troops in total but it was not known how many joined the Military faction to participate in the coup.
Lt. Col. Himmler Rebu was commander of the elite Leopard battalion and he initially led the coup attempt on 2 April. After failing to overthrow President Avril, Rebu was deported along with two fellow officers: Lt. Col. Himmler Rebu and Colonel Philippe Biamby. Biamby later returned to Haiti and became a key figure of the Military faction (forces of Raol Cédras), which carried out a successful coup in 1991 (see Government of Haiti - Military faction (forces of Raol Cédras) for more information). Colonel Guy Francois led the Dessalines Battalion and he also participated in the coup attempt on 2 April. Yet unlike Rebu, Francois was not deported but persuaded the government to permit him to remain and retain his military position. This enabled Francois to renew the coup attempt on 5 April but to no further success.
