Duvalier's regime was characterized by widespread human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Many of the people who were killed were political opponents or suspected dissidents, but others were simply innocent civilians who were caught in the crossfire or who were targeted by the government's security forces.
Duvalier's death in 1971 did not end the violence in Haiti. His son, Jean-Claude Duvalier, succeeded him as president and continued to rule with an iron fist. Jean-Claude Duvalier was eventually overthrown in a popular uprising in 1986, but the country has continued to suffer from political instability and violence.