Ex-strongman Haitian leader dies in Dominican town

Santo Domingo.- Former Haiti president Henri Namphy died in the Dominican Republic town of  Jarabacoa on Wed., Haitian and Dominican media report.

Namphy, who led a repressive regime after the ouster of the dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, died of lung cancer.

A source close to the family quoted by local media said that the Haitian president twice expressed his wish that his remains be buried in the Dominican Republic, where he lived since his fall from power in 1988.

Namphy was born in Port-au-Prince on November 2, 1932. He was a military officer and de facto president from February 6, 1986 to February 7, 1988.

He headed the presidency of Haiti’s military junta, which overthrew “Baby Doc” Duvalier.

He continued as head of the army and took power again in a coup but agreed to retire in June 1988, but in September that year another general, Prosper Avril, removed him from the presidency through a new coup.

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