1915–1934: Haiti

Main article: United States occupation of Haiti

The U.S. occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934. U.S.-based banks had lent money to Haiti and the banks requested U.S. government intervention. In an example of "gunboat diplomacy," the U.S. sent its navy to intimidate to get its way. Eventually, in 1917, the U.S. installed a new government and dictated the terms of a new Haitian constitution of 1917 that instituted changes that included an end to the prior ban on land ownership by non-Haitians. The Cacos (military group) were originally armed militias of formerly enslaved persons who rebelled and took control of mountainous areas following the Haitian Revolution in 1804. Such groups fought a guerrilla war against the U.S. occupation in what were known as the "Caco Wars."

1991: Haiti

Main article: 1991 Haitian coup d'état

Eight months after what was widely considered the first honest election held in Haiti, the newly elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was deposed by the Haitian army. It is alleged by some that the CIA "paid key members of the coup regime forces, identified as drug traffickers, for information from the mid-1980s at least until the coup." Coup leaders Cédras and François had received military training in the United States.

1994–1995: Haiti

See also: Operation Uphold Democracy

After the right-wing military junta took over Haiti in 1991 in a coup the U.S. initially had good relations with them. George H. W. Bush's administration supported the right wing junta; however, after the 1992 U.S. general election Bill Clinton came to power. Clinton was supportive of returning Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power, and his administration was active for the return of democracy to Haiti. This culminated in United Nations Security Council Resolution 940, which authorized the United States to lead an invasion of Haiti and restore Aristide to power. A diplomatic effort was led by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter. Then the U.S. gave the Haitian government an ultimatum: either the dictator of Haiti, Raoul Cedras, retire peacefully and let Aristide come back to power, or be invaded and forced out. Cedras capitulated; however, he did not immediately disband the armed forces. Protesters fought the military and police. Fighting ensued as the U.S. sent in the military to stop the violence. The violence soon quelled and Aristide returned to lead the country in October 1994. He and Clinton presided over ceremonies and Operation Uphold Democracy officially ended on March 31, 1995.

2004: Haiti

Main article: 2004 Haitian coup d'état

The US, along with Europe and others, accused the government party of election fraud in the Haitian general election, 2000. There were student protests from 2002, and from late 2003 conflict between the government and the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti.

In June 2004, the president Jean-Bertrand Aristide was removed from office by the rebels, and flown away from Haiti by U.S. military/security personnel, preventing him from finishing his second term. Aristide afterwards claimed that he had been "kidnapped" by U.S. forces and stated that the United States had orchestrated a coup d'état in Haiti, a claim disputed by U.S. officials. Haiti's neighboring Caribbean countries, through the Caribbean Community, deplored the "dangerous precedent for democratically elected governments anywhere and everywhere, as it promotes the removal of duly elected persons from office."

According to Democracy Now!, on 1 March 2004 US Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), along with Aristide family friend Randall Robinson, reported that Aristide had told them (using a smuggled cellular phone), that he had been forced to resign and abducted from the country by the United States. He claimed to be held hostage by an armed military guard. Aristide later repeated similar claims in an interview with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! on 16 March. Goodman asked Aristide if he resigned, and President Aristide replied: "No, I didn't resign. What some people call 'resignation' is a 'new coup d'état,' or 'modern kidnapping.'"

Many supporters of the Fanmi Lavalas party and Aristide, as well as some foreign supporters, denounced the rebellion as a foreign controlled coup d'état orchestrated by Canada, France and the United States to remove a democratically elected president.