The Tonton Macoute (Haitian Creole: Tonton Makout [tɔ̃tɔ̃ makut]) or simply the Macoute, was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force during the Duvalier family rule, created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, Tonton Macoute ("Uncle Gunnysack"), who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunny sack (macoute) before carrying them off to be consumed for breakfast.
The Tonton Macoute (Haitian Creole: Tonton Makout [tɔ̃tɔ̃ makut]) or simply the Macoute, was a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force during the Duvalier family rule, created in 1959 by dictator François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Haitians named this force after the Haitian mythological bogeyman, Tonton Macoute ("Uncle Gunnysack"), who kidnaps and punishes unruly children by snaring them in a gunny sack (macoute) before carrying them off to be consumed for breakfast.
Source: Wikipedia "Tonton Macoute" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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