Recently, African Swine Fever (ASF) was detected in Haiti. Specialists were not surprised since a couple months earlier pigs in the neighboring Dominican Republic were detected with a disease that is harmless to humans but can kill hogs.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency statement said it would support "efforts by the Dominican Republic and Haiti to manage the spread of ASF within their borders." While seemingly innocuous, this statement could unearth deep scars among Haitians.

In the early 1980s Ottawa helped fund and oversee the eradication of the country's "Creole" pigs. Fearing ASF from Haiti might harm the North American hog industry, the US and Canada pressured notorious dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier to eradicate all the indigenous "Creole" pigs on the island and replace them with northern animals.