Tonton Macoute
The Tonton Macoutes (singular Tonton Macoute referring to a member thereof; or Ton Ton Macoute) was a Haitian militia force under the control of Francois Duvalier (better known as "Papa Doc"). Created in 1959 and renamed offically in 1971 as the VSN (Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale) the force was notorious for its widespread and brutual repression of political dissidents.
In Haiti, like all other nations, at Christmas, good children are visited by Santa Claus, known locally as Uncle Christmas. The bad children are visited by Uncle Gunnysack, or Uncle Knapsack. Translated literally from Creole, Tonton (Uncle) Macoute (gunnysack). The term Tonton Macoutes is the bogeyman in Haiti.
Duvalier came to power in 1957, as a populist, freely elected. He had served as Health minister, and was notied in the fight against Typhus. In 1958, there was an attempted coup, after that he rewrote the Hatian constitution. In 1959, he created the force, which were granted automatic amnesty for any crime commited during any official act.
They were know for wearing dark glasses, wielding machetes, and leaving their victims hanging in a public place as a warning to others. They cultivated the image of being voudon deomn or zombies.
It is alleged that the death squad continues to operate in Haiti, through 2000.
Ton-Ton Macoute! is the name of a Johnny Jenkins music album.