ement actions against trafficking offenders; the
government has yet to produce an anti-trafficking conviction under
the comprehensive Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, which
became law in 2005; the government operates no shelters for
trafficking victims, but did include limited funding for
anti-trafficking NGOs in its 2008 budget; the government did not
make any effort to reduce demand for commercial sex acts during 2007
(2008)

Illicit drugs:

transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily
Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis; rising money
laundering related to drug trafficking and human smuggling

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Haiti

Introduction
Haiti

Background:

The native Taino Amerindians - who inhabited the island of
Hispaniola when it was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 - were
virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. In the
early 17th century, the French established a presence on Hispaniola,
and in 1697, Spain ceded to the French the western third of the
island, which later became Haiti. The French colony, based on
forestry and sugar-related industries, became one of the wealthiest
in the Caribbean, but only through the heavy importation of African
slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th
century, Haiti's nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint
L'OUVERTURE. After a prolonged struggle, Haiti became the first
black republic to declare its independence in 1804. The poorest
country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has been plagued by
political violence for most of its history. After an armed rebellion
led to the forced resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand
ARISTIDE in February 2004, an interim government took office to
organize new elections under the auspices of the United Nations
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). Continued violence and
technical delays prompted repeated postponements, but Haiti finally
did inaugurate a democratically elected president and parliament in
May of 2006.

Geography
Haiti

Location:

Caribbean, western one-third of the island of Hispaniola, between
the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of the
Dominican Republic

Geographic coordinates:

19 00 N, 72 25 W

Map references:

Central America and the Caribbean