In October 1991, President Jean Bertrand Aristide of Haiti was forceful-
ly removed from office following a coup d'état led by Haiti's military
leader, General Raoul Cedras. In response to this event, President
George Bush issued Executive Order 12775, which officially elevated
the situation in Haiti to the level of a "national emergency" for the
United States. The Bush administration immediately called for eco-
nomic sanctions and, in cooperation with the United Nations and the
Organization of American States (OAS), initiated an embargo that
would last throughout Bush's term as president.

In January 1993, Bill Clinton was sworn in as president and inherited
Bush's Haitian policy. Throughout his candidacy, Clinton had derided
the Bush administration's policy on Haiti. Yet upon taking office,
Clinton essentially left Bush's policies in place, made them his own,
and modified them in the ensuing months. Throughout 1993, the situa-
tion in Haiti remained unstable, and several key events occurred to
which the president and the press responded. On 19 February 1993, the
freighter Neptune sank, leaving over 800 Haitians dead. On 13 March
1993, the Haitian military arrested a soldier after he had been granted
political asylum by the United States. On 15 March 1993, President
Aristide visited President Clinton in Washington. On 3 July 1993, the
Haitian leaders signed the Governors Island agreement that set a spe-
cific time for President Aristide's return to Haiti. Finally, on 11 October
1993, U.S. and Canadian military engineers and trainers were prevent-
ed from disembarking in Port-au-Prince.

Although these events prompted criticism of the Clinton administra-
tion, they were also used by the Clinton administration to justify
increased action. The press focus was primarily upon the legal battle

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