Emmanuel Constant

Emmanuel Constant (nicknamed "Toto", born on October 27, 1956) is the founder of FRAPH, a Haitian death squad that terrorised supporters of exiled president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

For the bishop, see Emmanuel Constant (bishop).

In 2001, a Haitian court convicted him in absentia and sentenced him to life in prison for his role in the Raboteau Massacre.[1] In 2008, he was convicted of mortgage fraud and sentenced to 12–37 years in prison.[2] As of June 27, 2019, Constant was in custody at the Eastern Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in New York.[3] He was first eligible for parole on June 30, 2016, but was refused; his next parole hearing eligibility date is in February 2020.[3] He was not among 30 Haitians who were deported from the United States to Haiti on May 26, 2020. If and when he is deported, the government plans to arrest him and give him a new trial.[4]

1991–1994

In mid-1993, two years after the 1991 Haitian coup d'état, Constant set up paramilitary group known as the Front for the Advancement and Progress of Haïti (FRAPH) to terrorize supporters of exiled president Jean-Bertrand Aristide.[1] A CIA source implicated Constant in the 1993 assassination of Justice Minister Guy Malary, although the agency said the source was "untested".[5]

Constant was paid by the CIA from 1992 to 1994, as were several leading members of the military junta. He provided information to the agency for about $500 a month, according to United States officials and Mr. Constant himself.[5]

1994–2005

After the 1994 U.S. and UN-led multinational occupation restored Aristide to power, Constant escaped to the U.S.. He was detained by INS officials in 1995 and prepared to be deported to Haïti to stand trial for involvement in the Raboteau Massacre.[1] However, in a December 1995 interview with Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes, Constant threatened to divulge secrets about his relationship with the CIA during the early 1990s. In May 1996, after receiving Constant's threat, and intelligence that there was a plot to assassinate him should he return to Haïti, the Clinton administration ordered the INS to release Constant.

In 2001, Constant was convicted in absentia of his role in the Raboteau Massacre and sentenced to life in prison and hard labor.[1]

2006–present

On July 7, 2006, Constant appeared in a Long Island, New York county court to face charges that he participated in a mortgage scheme that defrauded Sun Trust Mortgage Bank and Fremont Investment and Loan of more than $1 million. The purported fraud took place while Constant was employed at Melville Brokerage.[6]

On October 28, 2008, Judge Abraham Gerges of the Kings County Supreme Court sentenced Constant to serve 12–37 years in prison.[2] Judge Gerges concluded his memorandum with a plea that the United States government allow Constant to serve his entire sentence in New York State, rather than return him to Haiti "where he may evade justice due to the instability of the Haitian judicial system." Judge Gerges noted that "it is apparent that the federal authorities may deport him shortly."[2]

In early May 2020 it was announced that the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was planning to send Constant back to Haiti on a May 12 deportation flight. The Center for Economic and Policy Research obtained a copy of the flight's manifest which included Contant's name and categorized him as a “High Profile Removal".[7] The planned deportation caused a lot of controversy and was later reprieved.[8]

A new deportation of Constant was planned for May 26, 2020.[9]

References
  1. Grann, David (July 2001). "Giving 'The Devil' His Due". The Atlantic.
  2. Sentencing Memorandum, October 28, 2008.
  3. "Inmate Population Information Search". NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. Retrieved June 27, 2019. Inmate Information: DIN (Department Identification Number) 08-A-5836
  4. "30 deported to Haiti, but ex-strongman remains in US". ABC News. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. Weiner, Tim (October 13, 1996). "'93 Report By C.I.A. Tied Haiti Agent To Slaying". The New York Times.
  6. "Infamous Haitian Accused of Fraud". The New York Times. July 7, 2006.
  7. "The US Has Been Exporting COVID-19 to Haiti; Now, It Is Returning a Death Squad Leader". Center for Economic and Policy Research. May 5, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  8. Charles, Jacqueline (May 6, 2020). "The U.S. planned to send a death squad leader to Haiti. Then it said never mind". Miami Herald.
  9. "Haiti - FLASH : USA will expel 78 Haitians including the former Head of FRAPH Emmanuel 'Toto' Constant". HaitiLibre.com. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
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