Also known as: Operation Uphold Democracy, Aristide restoration 1994, US intervention Haiti 1994
Last updated: April 26, 2026
On October 15, 1994, Jean-Bertrand Aristide returned to Haiti aboard a U.S. military aircraft, restoring democratic government after three years of military dictatorship following the 1991 coup. The return was enabled by Operation Uphold Democracy, a U.S. military intervention that deployed 20,000 troops to Haiti in September 1994 after negotiations led by former President Jimmy Carter. The coup government under General Raoul Cédras agreed to step down. The intervention was controversial: it restored democracy but on terms shaped by American strategic interests, including conditionality on economic liberalization. Aristide completed his original term but was constitutionally barred from re-election; René Préval succeeded him in 1996.
Aristide was restored to the presidency he had won in 1990 and from which the military had ousted him in 1991
The 1994 intervention reversed the 1991 military coup that had overthrown Aristide
U.S. forces deployed across Haiti to enforce the transition
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"U.S. Intervention and Aristide's Return (1994)." 1994. Rasin.ai, 2026. https://rasin.ai/connections/events/aristide-return-1994. Accessed 2026-05-05.