Haiti despot Duvalier, 63, dies

MEXICO CITY — Jean-Claude Duvalier, a former Haitian dictator known as “Baby Doc” who ruled the country with a brutality that left thousands dead, then shocked the country in 2011 with a sudden return from a 25-year exile, died Saturday.

Haitian President Michel Martelly announced the death in a statement and on Twitter.

Duvalier, 63, died of a heart attack at his home in Port-au-Prince, according to The Associated Press.

Duvalier led what hu- man-rights workers called one of the most oppressive regimes in the hemisphere, following in the footsteps of his father, Francois Duvalier, known as “Papa Doc,” who died in 1971.

The younger Duvalier was 19 when he assumed control of the country.

He never apologized for the atrocities committed under his government, including brutal crackdowns on opponents at the hands of the feared Tonton Macoutes civilian militia.

Duvalier defended himself when victims of his regime pursued corruption and human-rights abuse charges in Haitian courts, with the former leader denying wrongdoing and asserting that the country was better off when he ruled.

He regularly dined in Portau-Prince restaurants and attended events at the invitation of Martelly, whose administration has included relatives and allies of people associated with Duvalier.

Duvalier fled the country during an uprising in 1986 that set the stage for democratic elections, and he spent most of his exile in France. Human-rights groups have said Duvalier looted Haiti’s treasury of millions of dollars and largely lived off his ill-gotten gains.