Also known as: Aux Cayes massacre, Cayes massacre, Les Cayes massacre, December 6, 1929 massacre
Last updated: April 26, 2026
On December 6, 1929, U.S. marines opened fire on a crowd of approximately 1,500 protesters in Aux Cayes on Haiti's southern coast, killing at least 12 people (Haitian press accounts reported 24 dead). The massacre occurred during a widening nationwide strike and protest movement against the occupation and the client government of Louis Borno. It immediately shattered the occupation's claim to orderly benevolence and forced the Hoover administration to appoint the Forbes Commission to address the crisis.
The 1929 protests and national strikes that produced the Aux Cayes massacre were directed against his client presidency as much as against the occupation itself.
The massacre's international scandal forced Hoover to appoint the commission
The massacre occurred during the U.S. occupation and was committed by occupation marines
The massacre took place in Aux Cayes on the southern coast
Corvée forced labor was among the occupation grievances driving the protest movement
The massacre exposed the gap between occupation promises and the financial tutelage that persisted
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"Aux Cayes Massacre 1929." 1929. Rasin.ai, 2026. https://rasin.ai/connections/events/aux-cayes-massacre-1929. Accessed 2026-05-05.