[1][4] The church was the parish of future President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, then a liberation theology Roman Catholic priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco order, and had been packed with 1000 people for Sunday mass.
[6] According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the following day, "five men and one woman appeared on the government controlled television station (Télé Nationale) and admitted their participation in the attack on the church.
Many people were outraged that these individuals could appear on television, without any disguise, confess their participation in these events and threaten future criminal acts with no fear of being arrested by the authorities.
"[4] The massacre contributed to the emergence a week later of the September 1988 Haitian coup d'état against the Henri Namphy regime, which brought to power Prosper Avril.
[6] In November 1988 armed men led by a uniformed soldier murdered Michelet Dubreus and Jean Félix - two members of the popular organization Verité who had signed a public letter identifying participants in the massacre.