Defiance must be catching. Despite continued threats of invasion from the Clinton administration and a United Nations resolution providing the authorization, the de facto regime that ousted Haiti's freely elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide nearly three years ago remains undaunted. Attacks on regime opponents are on the rise, and last week the de facto government initiated treason proceedings against Aristide for supporting "swift and decisive action" to end the standoff. Even more galling, the junta has stepped up harassment of Haitians applying to U.S.-run processing centers for refugee status, and it refuses to let the more than 1,500 who have been approved leave the island.
The White House is still mulling over whether and when to invade. But opposition on Capitol Hill and within the region remains high. Venezuela, Chile and Uruguay announced, then suspended, a negotiating initiative aimed at avoiding an invasion. Argentina became the only Latin American country to indicate that it would contribute troops to an invasion, but then did an abrupt about-face over opposition to the idea within the cabinet and military.
