Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

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mulatto, whose former husband was the son of a man who had
attempted a coup against Francois Duvalier. Michele's father,
Ernest Bennett, had a reputation for shady business deals,
including narcotics trafficking.
The marriage alienated many Haitians, particularly blacks
and Duvalierists, the very people Francois Duvalier had cultivated.
Increased political repression added to the volatility of
the situation, which continued until 1986.
Jean-Claude's personal interest in government was extractive.
His principal source of revenue was the Tobacco and
Matches Administration (Regie du Tabac et des Allumettes)
established by President Estime as a tobacco monopoly. Jean-
Claude expanded the monopoly to include profits from other
state-owned industries. Over the years, he drew hundreds of
millions of dollars from this "nonfiscal account." An additional
source of income for the first family was the business community,
which Jean-Claude's wife, Michele Bennett, canvassed and
from which donations were extorted.
Corruption and intimidation extended well beyond the first
family. The mahout and section chiefs, or chefs de section (the
paramilitary rural constabulary) , also used a method of extortion
called "squeeze and suck" (peze souse) referring to the way
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