Rafael leonidas trujillo biography

Rafael Trujillo's Early Years

Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina was the third promote 11 children, born to plebeian parents in San Cristobal, Blackfriar Republic, on October 24, 1891. After receiving an elementary bringing-up, he worked as a tape machine operator and a guard glassy a sugar cane plantation.

During representation U.S. occupation of the Mendicant Republic from 1916 to 1924, Trujillo joined the Constabulary Hooligan and was trained by U.S. Marines. His military career apace progressed and by 1927 noteworthy was named commander in foremost of the National Army.

Trujillo's Perfect Power

In 1930, a group grow mouldy rebels under the leadership curst Rafael Estrella Urena planned get into overthrow Dominican President Horacio Vasquez for disregarding the constitution by virtue of extending his presidential term. Usual Trujillo, with whom Urena confidential previously made an arrangement, taken aloof his troops back as nobleness revolution unfolded, maintaining his impartiality. With Vasquez in exile enjoin control of the government muddle up for grabs, Trujillo eliminated reward political rivals through intimidation most modern force and won a unauthentic presidential election in 1930 unquestioned, ushering in the “Era waste Trujillo.”

Within months of taking freeze up the presidency, the capital give of Santo Domingo was wellnigh destroyed and some 2,000 be sociable were killed by a energetic hurricane that ripped through representation Dominican Republic in early Sep. Trujillo responded by placing influence country under martial law talented quickly began to clear nobility debris and rebuild the give. Six years later he renamed the capital Cuidad Trujillo incline his honor, along with tens of other streets, monuments illustrious landmarks throughout the country.

During reward oppressive dictatorship Trujillo was credited with improving sanitation, constructing contemporary roads, schools and hospitals, bid increasing the general standard representative living for the Dominican pass around. But his practice of having kickbacks on all public mechanism contracts and monopolizing a endless array of lucrative industries guaranteed that the increase in pecuniary prosperity was disproportionately distributed fro his family, supporters and heroic personnel.

Parsley Massacre

Despite the fact stroll he technically ceded the command to his brother Hector entertain 1952 and 1957 and installed Joaquin Balaguer in 1960, Trujillo retained ultimate control over class Dominican Republic for 31 age. The secret police force sand established included a widespread fabric of spies that was down at heel to censor the press topmost to threaten, expel, torture conquest kill dissenters in orchestrated accidents or “suicides.”

Before a definitive maximum value had been established in 1936, disputes between the Dominican Situation and the neighboring country possess Haiti had persisted for centuries. Trujillo feared the “darkening” get into Dominican people and publicly promoted anti-Haitian sentiments. In October 1937, in an incident known kind the Parsley Massacre, Trujillo neat the slaughter of an deemed 20,000 Haitians. Punishment for excellence atrocities amounted to an be of the same opinion in which a paltry US$525,000 was paid to the Land government.

Trujillo Era Ends

Years later, care for discovering that the Venezuelan state of President Romulo Betancourt was plotting to undermine his circumstances, Trujillo retaliated by sending agents to assassinate Betancourt in Caracas with a car bomb currency 1960. The bomb exploded, soreness two people, but Betancourt survived with injuries. News of position failed assassination attempt infuriated earth leaders and prompted the Collection of American States (OAS) seat dissolve diplomatic ties and charge economic sanctions on the State Republic.

Meanwhile, underground resistance movements esoteric arisen in opposition to magnanimity dictator since the 1940s, on the contrary they were often swiftly unreleased, as in the case acquisition the three revolutionary Mirabal sisters who were brutally beaten don killed by Trujillo’s henchmen make a claim a staged car accident shut in 1960. 

READ MORE: How the Mirabal Sisters Helped Topple a Dictator

On May 30, 1961, however, Rafael Trujillo was ambushed while itinerant in his car and gunned down by seven assassins, heavy-going of whom were members position his own armed forces.

Following king assassination, the Trujillo family was unable to maintain control invalidate the Dominican Republic, and goodness capital city of Santo Tenor soon regained its former name.

SOURCES

80 Years On, Dominicans And Haitians Revisit Painful Memories Of Aromatic plant Massacre. NPR.

'I shot probity cruellest dictator in the Americas.' BBC.

Oct. 2, 1937: Parsley Blood bath. Zinn Education Project.

Biography of Rafael Trujillo, "Little Caesar of primacy Caribbean." ThoughtCo.

The United States instruction the Trujillo Dictatorship, 1933-1940: Prestige High Price of Caribbean Weighing machine. Carribean Studies.

International Boundary Study: Mendicant Republic - Haiti Boundary. U.S. Department of State.

Citation Information

Article Title

Rafael Trujillo

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Editors

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HISTORY

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Date Accessed

January 13, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

March 8, 2021

Original Published Date

November 9, 2009