Duvalier arrests stymie virtually all opposition
Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Jean-Claude Duvalier, the Haitian strong man, eliminated all organized opposition, arresting politicians, journalists, and human-rights activists. The United States has expressed "grave concern" to the Haitian embassy and directly to the regime through the US embassy here.
The arrests are said to have included Gregoire Eugene, head of the tiny Christian Social Democratic Party. His arrest virtually eliminates organized political opposition.
Among the newsmen reported arrested were two writers for a weekly newspaper, the news director of a radio station, and the owner-editor of the antigovernment publication Le Coquelicot. It was the largest sweep of arrests since President-for-Life "Baby Doc" Duvalier took power in 1971 after his father's death.