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Solved case · 1964
Also known as Jeremie Vespers
The short answer
In August–November 1964, Haitian government forces killed 27 relatives of members of the "Jeune Haiti" resistance group in and around Jérémie, Haiti, after the group landed to try to overthrow the Duvalier regime; the two surviving Jeune Haiti members were later publicly executed.
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Suggest coverage for Jérémie VespersThe case file
In August 1964, a group of 13 young Haitian exiles calling themselves "Jeune Haiti" landed at Petite-Rivière-de-Dame-Marie on August 6, 1964, intending to overthrow the government of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Over the following two months, the Haitian Army fought the group in the hills near Jérémie, killing members of Jeune Haiti one by one. The last two survivors, Louis Drouin and Marcel Numa, were eventually captured alive, taken to Port-au-Prince, and shot in public against a cemetery wall on November 12, 1964.
During the period the army and the resistance fought in the hills, the Duvalier regime ordered the arrest and killing of family members of Jeune Haiti fighters in Jérémie. This set of killings became known as the "Jérémie Vespers," a name derived from the "vesper" picnic excursions for which the affected families were remembered. In total, 27 people were murdered as part of this campaign, ranging in age from 85-year-old Mrs. Chenier Villedrouin (née Corinne Sansaricq) to 2-year-old Régine Sansaricq.
The victims named in the historical record include members of the Drouin, Villedrouin, Sansaricq, and Bazile families — among them Louis Drouin Sr. and his wife Louise Degraff; their children Guy Drouin and Alice Drouin; Alice's husband Gérard Guilbaud; Corinne Sansaricq Villedrouin and her children Victor and Guy Villedrouin and their relatives; Pierre Sansaricq, his wife Louise Laforest, and multiple of their children and grandchildren, including young children Jean-Pierre, Stéphane, and Régine Sansaricq; and Alphonze Bazile, among others. One of the victims, Adeline Chassagne, was the aunt of musician Régine Chassagne of the band Arcade Fire. Bishop Guy Sansaricq, a Catholic bishop who opposed the Duvalier regime, is noted as a cousin of some of the victims.
The killings are remembered as part of the broader record of state violence under the Duvalier government, alongside other sites and institutions associated with repression in Haiti during this period, such as Fort Dimanche and the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (the Haitian secret police, commonly known as the Tontons Macoutes).
4 dated entries · 1964
Thirteen members of "Jeune Haiti" land at Petite-Rivière-de-Dame-Marie intending to overthrow the government of François 'Papa Doc' Duvalier.
Fighting begins between the Haitian Army and Jeune Haiti; the regime begins ordering the arrest and killing of Jeune Haiti members' families in Jérémie.
By the end of this period, 27 relatives of Jeune Haiti members have been killed in and around Jérémie in what became known as the Jérémie Vespers.
The last two surviving Jeune Haiti members, Louis Drouin and Marcel Numa, are shot in public against a cemetery wall in Port-au-Prince.
30 named in this file
Victims first. Every legal label is set from public records and court outcomes, not from the prose.
Wife of Victor Villedrouin and aunt of musician Régine Chassagne of Arcade Fire; killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Sister of Louis Drouin Jr., killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Son of Pierre and Vesta Bazile, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Sister of Louise Laforest, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Sister of Guy and Victor Villedrouin, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
16-year-old son of Victor Villedrouin and Adeline Chassagne, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Son of Pierre Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Husband of Alice Drouin, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Wife of Jean-Claude Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Brother of Louis Drouin Jr., killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Brother of Victor Villedrouin, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Son of Pierre Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Son of Pierre and Louise Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
6-year-old son of Jean-Claude and Graziela Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Sister of Pierre Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
18-year-old daughter of Victor Villedrouin and Adeline Chassagne, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Member of Jeune Haiti; captured alive after the group's fight against the Haitian Army and shot in public in Port-au-Prince on November 12, 1964.[3]
Father of Louis Drouin Jr., killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Wife of Louis Drouin Sr., killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Wife of Pierre Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Member of Jeune Haiti; captured alive after the group's fight against the Haitian Army and shot in public in Port-au-Prince on November 12, 1964.[3]
10-year-old daughter of Pierre Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
85-year-old victim (née Corinne Sansaricq), mother of Guy and Victor Villedrouin, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
2-year-old victim killed during the Jérémie Vespers; daughter of Jean-Claude and Graziela Sansaricq.[3]
Son of Pierre Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Wife of Guy Villedrouin and sister of Louis Drouin Jr., killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
4-year-old son of Jean-Claude and Graziela Sansaricq, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
Son of Mrs. Chenier Villedrouin, killed during the Jérémie Vespers.[3]
3 cited
Coverage is not a source: every fact in this file rests on the records below.
Pressfordi9.comAccessed Jul 7, 2026
Presssearch.worldcat.orgAccessed Jul 7, 2026
EncyclopedicWikipediaAccessed Jul 7, 2026
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