By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 05 Oct 2014 • 8:57
THE FORMER president of Haiti has died at his home in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince.
Jean-Claude Duvalier “Baby Doc” the former dictator and ruler of the Caribbean nation, suffered a major heart attack aged 63, his lawyer Reynold George reported.
The man who once called himself “president for life”, ruled the impoverished nation for 14 years between 1971 until his ousting in 1986
He then spent 25 years in exile in France before returning to Haiti in January 2011 in what he described a gesture of solidarity to the nation following a devastating earthquake in 2010.
“Baby Doc” came to power after his father, Francois died and both men ruled Haiti with an iron fist.
Both leaders relied heavily on the secret police known as the Tonton Macoutes. Together they kidnapped, tortured and killed up to 30,000 suspected opponents during the 1960s and 1970s.
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