Hillary Clinton and Haiti
April 11, 2016
Hillary Clinton and Haiti
by Ricardo Seitenfus
The Clintons high-profile interest in Haiti dates back almost all the way to their wedding in 1975. Shortly after their honeymoon in Acapulco, Bill and Hillary Clinton received an invitation from David Edwards a friend and Citibank executive to accompany him to Haiti.
Edwardss motivation in getting the Clintons closer to Haiti was neither cultural nor humanitarian. The reason was Citibanks long-standing financial interests in the country, which now go back over a century.
In 1909, the National City Bank of New York Citibank acquired a majority stake in the National Bank of Haiti, an institution that had been under French control and which, since 1880, held the power to issue paper money and to serve as central bank for the Haitian treasury. In 1914, Roger Leslie Farnham in charge of the Caribbean region at Citibank pressed Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan for Washington to militarily intervene in Haiti in order to protect U.S. interests. One year later, 19 years of occupation would begin for the country.
It was only the beginning of U.S. meddling in the affairs of its poorer neighbor.
More:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/04/11/hillary-clinton-and-haiti/
Good Reads:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1016151881