Roger Lafontant Roger Lafontant Roger Lafontant (1931–September 29, 1991) was the former leader of the Tonton Macoutes and the former Minister of dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier. He was the leader of an attempted coup d'état on January 1991, in Haiti, an effort which ultimately lead to his death. As a student studying to become a gynecologist, he founded the student branch of the Tontons Macoutes, which supported dictatorship under President François Duvalier and his son Jean-Claude Duvalier. In November 1972, he became Minister of the Interior and National Defense Jean-Claude Duvalier was then rejected because of his personal ambitions. Lafontant was then sent
Duvalier dynasty after the assassination of Kennedy, relations with Duvalier eased, partially due to Haiti's strategic location near Cuba. Duvalier died on 21 April 1971. During his rule, an estimated 30,000 citizens were killed by the government, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians emigrated to the United States, Cuba, and Canada. Duvalier was succeeded by his son, Jean-Claude, as the country's new leader. Still a teenager when he ascended to public office, Duvalier was said to be reckless and dissolute, raised in elite isolation and uninterested in politics. The first few years of his administration saw him leaving administrative duties to his