On March 10, 1990 Lieutenant General Prosper Avril resigned as Haiti's president amid a popular revolt against his military government, and two days later he flew into exile, clearing the way for a civilian transitional government. Avril had seized power in the September 1988 coup and promised a democratic transition, but his 18-month rule was marked by continued repression and human-rights abuses. By early 1990 a rising tide of protests, strikes, and unrest, in which more than 20 people died during the final week, made his position untenable.
On March 10, 1990 Avril resigned, briefly yielding to the army chief of staff General Herard Abraham, who within three days handed power to a civilian government led by Supreme Court judge Ertha Pascal-Trouillot. On March 12 Avril flew to the United States on a US Air Force plane, averting a threatened general strike.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Prosper Avril, forced from power in March 1990 by a popular revolt; he resigned on March 10 and flew into exile in the United States on March 12.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Prosper Avril (military president forced out)
Ertha Pascal-Trouillot (interim civilian president who followed)
Sources
Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril resigned as Haiti's president on March 10 amid a popular revolt against his 18-month-old military government, yielding power to Maj. Gen. Herard Abraham, the army chief of staff, who vowed to give way to a provisional civilian government in three days.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWashington Post, Embattled Ruler Quits in Haitiopen source ↗
Lt. Gen. Prosper Avril flew out of Haiti with his family aboard a U.S. Air Force transport two days after massive unrest led the military ruler to relinquish power, as opposition groups intent on forcing a swift transition to civilian rule had called for a general strike unless Avril went into exile.
SOURCE REVIEWEDRoanoke Times / Associated Press, US Flies Avril Out of Haitiopen source ↗
Avril flew into exile early on March 12 two days after resigning, a coalition of political parties announced that the nation's only female Supreme Court judge Ertha Pascal-Trouillot would be sworn in as provisional president, and his departure averted what many had predicted would be a bloody general strike and cleared the way for the fourth change in government since Duvalier fled on February 7, 1986.
SOURCE REVIEWEDWashington Post, Avril Leaves Haitiopen source ↗
Violent popular protests forced Avril to resign after 18 months, and in March 1990 a civilian government was appointed with the mandate of holding elections as soon as possible, with his successor General Herard Abraham becoming the first military man in Haitian history to surrender power voluntarily.
SOURCE REVIEWEDEveryCRSReport / Haiti Support Groupopen source ↗
Editorial Note
Coding note and dataset examination: the dataset labels this a popular revolt with an exiled fate, which fits; sustained popular protests and strikes forced the military president Avril to resign, and he then went into exile. Fate coding: Avril resigned on March 10, 1990 and flew into exile in the United States on March 12, 1990, matching the dataset's exiled fate; he was not physically harmed. Arc link: this continues and effectively ends the run of post-Duvalier military governments this enrichment has tracked, following the June and September 1988 coups (Namphy ousting Manigat, then Avril ousting Namphy, both enriched in batch 39); Avril's fall opened the path to the December 1990 election of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, later context. Nature recorded: Avril briefly handed power to army chief General Herard Abraham, who within days transferred it to a civilian interim president, Supreme Court judge Ertha Pascal-Trouillot, described as the first voluntary surrender of power by a Haitian military man. Context recorded: more than 20 people died in the final week of unrest, and a US role in arranging Avril's departure is noted. Neutrality maintained.
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Prosper Avril, forced from power in March 1990 by a popular revolt; he resigned on March 10 and flew into exile in the United States on March 12..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; exiled. 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
“Haitians take to the Street Again to Call for Military Ruler’s Ouster,” March 10, 1990
“Protestors Press Haitian Ruler to resign,” March 9, 1990
“Military Leader of Haiti Resigns: Election promised,” March 11, 1990
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 →