Guy Philippe

Guy Philippe
Philippe in the custody of the Drug Enforcement Administration in 2017
Born (1968-02-29) February 29, 1968 (age 56)[1]
Pestel, Haiti[1]
Known forcoup leader, presidential candidate
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Guy Philippe (born 29 February 1968) is a Haitian former police officer, politician, and convicted money launderer, who led the 2004 Haitian coup d'état against president Jean-Bertrand Aristide after being fired from the police in 2000.[1][3]

He originally gained power in Haiti as a paramilitary leader, and had participated in the electoral process to become a political leader. He led the 2000-2004 paramilitary insurgency that culminated in the 2004 Haitian coup d'état ousting Haiti's elected government and President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Philippe was a presidential candidate in the 2006 Haitian general election, receiving nearly 2% of the vote.[4]

Philippe served time in U.S. federal prison from 2017 to 2023: On 21 June 2017, the United States, where he had spent some of the illegal proceeds, sentenced him to nine years in federal prison, in connection with money he received for ensuring police protection of drug trafficking during the late 1990s and early 2000s.[3] The charges did not address any of the numerous deaths that were documented as being carried out by death squads that he led between 2000 and 2004. In 2023, Philippe was repatriated from U.S. federal prison to Haiti.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b c "Guy Philippe". Insight Crime. 12 September 2024.
  2. ^ "Haiti - Politic : Return of Guy Philippe at the head of a new political organization". Retrieved 31 October 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Haitian National Sentenced to 108 Months in Federal Prison for Conspiring to Launder Money Derived from Drug Trafficking". U.S. Department of Justice. 21 June 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Haitian Presidency 2006 general". IFES Election Guide. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  5. ^ Sprague, Jeb (2012). "The return of paramilitarism, 2000-2001". Paramilitarism and the Assault on Democracy in Haiti. New York: Monthly Review Press. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1-58367-300-3.
  6. ^ "Coup leader Guy Philippe repatriated to Haiti as many question his next role in country in upheaval". Associated Press. 1 December 2023.