Jean-Bertrand Aristide in the context of "1990–91 Haitian general election"

Cap-Haïtien (French: [kap a.isjɛ̃] ; Haitian Creole: Kap Ayisyen; "Haitian Cape") is a commune of about 300,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the department of Nord. Previously named Cap‑Français (Haitian Creole: Kap-Fransè; initially Cap-François Haitian Creole: Kap-Franswa) and Cap‑Henri (Haitian Creole: Kap-Anri) during the rule of Henri I, it was historically nicknamed the Paris of the Antilles, because of its wealth and sophistication, expressed through its architecture and artistic life. It was an important city during the colonial period, serving as the capital of the French Colony of Saint-Domingue from the city's formal foundation in 1711 until 1770 when the capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. After the Haitian Revolution, it became the capital of the Kingdom of Haiti under King Henri I until 1820.

Cap-Haïtien's long history of independent thought was formed in part by its relative distance from Port-au-Prince, the barrier of mountains between it and the southern part of the country, and a history of large African populations. These contributed to making it a legendary incubator of independent movements since slavery times. For instance, from February 5–29, 2004, the city was taken over by militants who opposed the rule of the Haïtian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide. They eventually created enough political pressure to force him out of office and the country.

The 1991 Haitian coup d'état resulted in the overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the democratically-elected president of Haiti, by a contingent of the Haitian military led by General Raoul Cédras and Chief of National Police Michel François. The coup began on 29 September 1991, when Haitian troops mutinied, launching a violent takeover that involved attacking Aristide's residence, committing massacres, and ultimately forcing Aristide into exile in Venezuela. Cédras announced the military's takeover on 30 September.

Prior to the coup, beginning in 1957, Haiti was ruled by the dictatorships of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier. Amidst political violence and growing poverty, an opposition movement began to form. Aristide arose as a prominent figure within this movement, participating in the protests that forced Jean-Claude to flee Haiti in 1986. After Jean-Claude's overthrow, Haiti was controlled by a series of military-dominated governments, but popular movements such as Aristide's Lavalas (transl. 'Avalanche') continued to mobilize, leading to Aristide's victory in the 1990–91 Haitian general election. As president, Aristide implemented populist and social democratic reforms focused on aiding Haiti's poor, which generated significant opposition from the military, wealthy elites, and the United States.

Operation Uphold Democracy was a multinational military intervention in Haiti designed to remove the military regime led and installed by Raoul Cédras after the 1991 coup d'état overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The operation was effectively authorized by the 31 July 1994 United Nations Security Council Resolution 940, which approved the use of force to restore the Aristide government.

After Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who became Haiti's first freely-elected president in 1990, was overthrown in 1991, the United States, in cooperation with the Organization of American States, imposed economic sanctions to pressure the military junta to restore democracy. Negotiations brokered by the UN and the OAS in 1993 led to some progress towards this but were ultimately unsuccessful. After that the U.S. followed a dual strategy of preparing for an intervention while hoping it would pressure the regime to give up power. It also sought diplomatic support at the UN, which led to Resolution 940—the first time that the UN authorized the use of force to restore democracy.

A coup d'état in Haiti on 29 February 2004, following several weeks of conflict, resulted in the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from office. On 5 February, a rebel group, called the National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti, took control of Haiti's fourth-largest city, Gonaïves. By 22 February, the rebels had captured Haiti's second-largest city, Cap-Haïtien and were besieging the capital, Port-au-Prince by the end of February. On the morning of 29 February, Aristide resigned under controversial circumstances and was flown from Haiti by U.S. military and security personnel. He went into exile, being flown directly to the Central African Republic, before eventually settling in South Africa.

Aristide afterwards claimed that he had been kidnapped by U.S. forces, accusing them of having orchestrated a coup d'état against him, a claim denied by U.S. officials. In 2022, a dozen Haitian and French officials told The New York Times that Aristide's earlier calls for reparations had caused France to side with Aristide's opponents and collaborate with the United States to remove him from power. This claim was, however, denied by the United States Ambassador to Haiti at the time, James Brendan Foley.

Joseph-Michel François (French pronunciation: [ʒozɛf miʃɛl fʁɑ̃swa]; 1957 – 2017) was a colonel in the Haitian army. As Haiti Chief of National Police he participated in the 1991 Haitian coup d'état, which overthrew Haiti's elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Former Haitian President candidate Michel "Sweet Mickey" Martelly is known to have associated with François.

United Nations Security Council resolution 940 was adopted on 31 July 1994. After recalling resolutions 841 (1993), 861 (1993), 862 (1993), 867 (1993), 873 (1993), 875 (1993), 905 (1994), 917 (1994) and 933 (1994), the Council permitted a United States-led force to restore President Jean-Bertrand Aristide and authorities of the Government of Haiti, and extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) for an additional six months.

The National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation and Reconstruction of Haiti (French: Front pour la libération et la reconstruction nationales) was a rebel group in Haiti that controlled most of the country following the 2004 Haitian coup d'état. It was briefly known as the "Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front", after the country's central Artibonite region, before being renamed on February 19, 2004, to emphasize its national scope.

The group can be considered an alliance between two elements within the coup: armed anti-government gangs and former soldiers of the disbanded Haitian army. The most prominent of the gangs was the one based in Gonaïves, formerly known as the "Cannibal Army", who had once supported Lavalasian-party President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide but later turned against him. The coup initiated with the Cannibal Army's capture of Gonaïves on February 5, 2004. It was led until his death in 2005 by Buteur Metayer since the murder (allegedly on Aristide's orders) of Buteur's brother, Amiot Metayer, in late 2003.