1920: (The Cacos’ Judgment of the Gendarmerie — Caco Leaders Writing That the Majority Who Belong to the Gendarmerie Are Worthless and If Really Conscientiou…

1920: (The Cacos’ Judgment of the Gendarmerie — Caco Leaders Writing That the Majority Who Belong to the Gendarmerie Are Worthless and If Really Conscientious Would Never Fight Against Us, Gendarme Soldiers’ Value Measured Through Political Awareness, Yet Caco Leaders Also Sought to Recruit Disillusioned Gendarmes — General Theophil and Petit Severe Traveling in Women’s Clothing to Gendarmerie Camps, Petit Severe Allegedly Recruiting Practically All the Gendarmes in the North to Attack Small Stations Then Proceed to Larger Towns Where White Officers Were Stationed): The cacos made their understanding of the gendarmerie clear. In a public letter from 1920, caco leaders wrote that the majority of Haitians who belonged to the Gendarmerie were men who were not conscientious — worthless and of worthless doings, and if really conscientious they would never fight against the resistance. Repeatedly referred to as bad Haitians, the gendarme soldiers’ value was measured through political awareness. But the contradiction was illuminating: these same men were also those caco leaders sought to recruit. When General Theophil and Petit Severe traveled in women’s clothing to gendarmerie camps, the feminine disguise was itself a commentary on the porousness of occupied identity. Petit Severe allegedly recruited practically all the gendarmes in the north, who were prepared to join the cause: attack the small stations, enlist such gendarmes as would follow, then proceed to the larger towns where white officers were stationed.