PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti's democratically elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was driven from his office by a bloody coup organized by supporters of the previous Jean-Claude Duvalier dictatorship and backed by the United States. Resident Bu$h, himself un-elected, has now ordered deployment of U.S. Marines to Haiti. This latest occupation has nothing to do with "bringing stability" to Haiti. It is part of a long history of colonialism. President Woodrow Wilson sent the Marines to Haiti in 1915... they didn't leave until 1934. U.S. imperialism sees Haiti as "our backyard."

Canadian troops took control of the main airport in the capital Port-au-Prince on Sunday. Up to 2,000 U.S. Marines have been put on alert. With U.S. war ships off the coast of Haiti... thousands of invaders are expected to arrive Sunday at any moment.

Aristide said he resigned to avert "a bloodbath." Aristide, 50, whose role in a popular uprising that ended decades of dictatorship in the 1980s made him a hero of Haitian democracy, left early on Sunday morning, 24 days after the U.S. backed coup began in the poorest country in the Americas. His departure was arranged by U.S. officials. "At his request, we facilitated his safe departure," a State Department official, who asked not to be named, said in Washington. Within hours, Haitian Chief Justice Boniface Alexandre was named to replace Aristide as laid out in the constitution.

Aristide's destination was unclear but Haiti's consul in the capital of the neighboring Dominican Republic said that he traveled to the eastern Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda to refuel and then was planning to travel to Morocco. But Morocco said it would not grant Aristide asylum.

Prime Minister Yvon Neptune read a statement by Aristide in which he said, "today is a very difficult day ... I am determined to respect the constitution. If tonight my resignation is the decision that can avoid a bloodbath, I consent to leave with hope there will be life, not death." Aristide said in the statement, evidently written late on Saturday night.

With the death squad militias closing in on Port-au-Prince, many had feared a bloody battle for control between them and Aristide's militant supporters... the great masses of the island nation's poor. The coup, which flared in the city of Gonaives on Feb. 5, has already killed nearly 70 people. The coup makers in Cap Haitien, the stronghold of the fascist militias in the north overrun last weekend, celebrated in the streets. The death squad militias, led by a former corrupt police chief and a former death squad leader, had said they were advancing on the capital. This had sparked increasing chaos in Port-au-Prince in recent days, and hundreds of foreigners had fled the country.

Reaction to news of Aristide's departure in the streets of Port-au-Prince was swift and angry. Armed militant Aristide supporters from the slums roamed the city in pickup trucks, armed with shotguns and other small arms. But these supporters of the elected government are no match for the rightist thugs and supporters of the former Duvalier dictatorship. They are heavily armed with up to 20,000 M-16 automatic rifles, kelvar helmets and flak vests... all supplied by U.S. backed bases in neighboring Dominican Republic. Now their pay masters... the coup plotters in Wa$hington, are sending thousands of Marines to occupy the country.

Aristide out and Haiti defeated... next stop, Venezuela!