In addition, national governments intervened in Haitian affairs.

Some diplomats here described the timing of the military purge as a warning to Mr. Carter not to meddle in Haitian affairs.

He served as a special adviser to the President and Secretary of State for Haitian affairs in 1994.

Lacking direct influence in Haitian affairs, the elite resorted to clandestine lobbying among the officer corps.

It has gone much the same with subsequent American efforts to influence Haitian affairs.

For William H. Gray 3d, President Clinton's special adviser on Haitian affairs, the speech was worthy only of derision.

"Unfortunately, our people don't have cable," said Theodore Fayette, the producer of a Haitian public affairs show.

Cuba helped some Haitian refugees travel to Florida in the 1980s, but its overall interest in Haitian affairs has been unclear.

"If the training was really a cover to interject the American military into Haitian affairs, then the Administration is being naive."

The failure of Haiti's civilian leadership to negotiate an alternative political course further reinforced the FAd'H's selfcharacterization as the decisive agent of Haitian affairs.