Coup Atlas Research Database
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04104241970AttemptedMilitary coup

Haiti, 1970 — military coup attempt

Haiti (HTI)Caribbean, AmericasApril 24, 1970

Event Summary

The dataset records an attempted military coup in Haiti on 24 April 1970, during the final year of the dictatorship of President for Life Francois Duvalier, a challenge that came from within his own security forces. In April 1970 the Haitian Coast Guard mutinied against Duvalier, with several vessels shelling the National Palace in Port au Prince before the rebellion failed and the mutineers fled by sea to seek asylum, reportedly at the United States naval base at Guantanamo. The rising, one of the rare challenges to emerge from inside the Duvalier security apparatus rather than from exiles, was suppressed, and Duvalier purged the Coast Guard.

He survived, as he had every previous plot and invasion, and ruled until his death in April 1971, when he was succeeded by his nineteen year old son Jean-Claude, who continued the family dictatorship until 1986.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Francois Duvalier survived the Coast Guard mutiny and ruled until his death in 1971
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Francois Duvalier (president of Haiti, target)
Haitian Coast Guard mutineers (rebels)

Sources

Francois Duvalier ruled Haiti from 1957 until his death in 1971, building a personal dictatorship backed by the Tonton Macoutes militia and declaring himself president for life.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Francois Duvalier open source ↗
Duvalier survived numerous coup attempts, invasions, and challenges throughout his rule, entrenching his dictatorship through terror.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Francois Duvalier open source ↗
Duvalier was succeeded on his death in April 1971 by his son Jean-Claude Duvalier, who continued the family dictatorship until 1986.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Francois Duvalier open source ↗
Duvalier relied on the Tonton Macoutes and a personalized security apparatus to crush all opposition and maintain absolute power.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Francois Duvalier open source ↗

Editorial Note

Dataset date 24 April 1970 corresponds to the April 1970 Haitian Coast Guard mutiny against Duvalier; the day level detail is lightly documented in accessible English sources this session, so it is flagged, while the Duvalier dictatorship, its pattern of crushing challenges, and Duvalier's survival to his 1971 death are verified. Continues the Haiti run from batches 64 and 67.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
04104241970
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-41-1970-04-24

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Francois Duvalier survived the Coast Guard mutiny and ruled until his death in 1971.

Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

The Sun

“Duvalier Calls Mutiny Over, But Haiti Stays Sealed Off,” April 26, 1970

LA Times

“HAITI MUTINY CHOKED OFF, DUVALIER SAYS,” April 26, 1970

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

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