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Elections were held in 1990, ushering in two decades of further intense internationalinvolvement in Haiti’s affairs, much of it necessary. 612 Monitored by the UN andthe OAS, the elections brought to power the young Catholic priest and exponent ofliberation theology, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Starting well and attaining modestsuccess initially, Aristide’s rule increasingly incited opposition through its growingauthoritarianism and personal nature. On 29 September 1991, Aristide’sgovernment was overthrown by Raoul Cédras, the commander of Haiti’s armedforces.Exiled to Venezuela, Aristide won international backing, through the UN and theOAS, for his eventual return to Haiti. A pivotal source of support was the Clintonadministration in the US. This support included a trade embargo on the Cédrasregime in Haiti imposed by the OAS, as well as diplomatic action under the auspicesof the UN. On 16 June 1993, the Security Council imposed mandatory sanctions onthe country, preventing the trade of weapons, oil and petroleum products with Haitiby UN members. Sanctions were lifted when negotiations between Aristide andCédras resulted in the Governor’s Island Agreement (GIA). The GIA provided for“a new civilian government, the suspension of sanctions, the deployment of UNpeacekeepers, an amnesty, the retirement of Cédras, and the return to power ofAristide”. 613 The agreement foundered because of the disingenuousness of Cédras,whose thugs prevented the landing of the UN peacekeepers who constituted theUN Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). His return thwarted, Aristide lobbied for strongermeasures against Cédras. These included the reimposition of sanctions by the UNas well as a naval blockade of Haiti. Furthermore, on 31 July 1994, in terms ofUNSC Resolution 940 (1994), the UN authorised a US-led multinational force(MNF) under Chapter VII. This was to be followed by a Chapter VI UNpeacekeeping operation. By mid-September of that year, the US had gathered 19UN member states in the operation, amounting to a total of 2 000 troops, to join a20 000-strong US force within the MNF.612 Much of this background is derived from Einsiedel and Malone, “Peace andDemocracy for Haiti?”.613 Einsiedel and Malone, “Peace and Democracy for Haiti?”, 155.243