Operation Secure Tomorrow
Operation Secure Tomorrow is an operation that took place from February-July 2004 in which a multi-national force led by 3rd Battalion 8th Marines and led by Marine Brigadier General Ronald S. Coleman, was sent by US President George W. Bush to Haiti to protect US interests there. The Central Intelligence Agency was believed to be behind a coup plot after it was revealed that the National Institute for Democracy, a US Congress-funded organization played a major role by funding opponents of the Lavalas government. The government was overthrown by rebels, led by Guy Philippe, Winter Etienne, and Louis-Jodel Chamblain in order to oust the left-wing President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was accused of being corrupt. In four months the multi-national forces brought Haiti back in line. The countries that participated in the operation were Chile, a close ally of the US in Latin America, and Canada's Liberal government that wanted to show its support for US foreign policy after its opposition to the Iraq War.