Former Dictator Returns to Haiti

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier has returned to his homeland for the first time since he was ousted in a coup in 1986.

Until the coup, Duvalier, known as “Baby Doc,” had ruled Haiti since the 1971 death of his father, Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier.  It is not clear why the younger Duvalier returned.

His return comes at a time of political crisis in Haiti following Nov. 28 presidential and legislative elections, whose preliminary results have triggered fraud allegations and protests.

The elections were followed by a cholera epidemic in the Caribbean island nation, which is still recovering from a devastating earthquake a year ago that killed more than 300,000 people.

Duvalier was living in France in a self-imposed exile.