Fast Facts: Rafael Trujillo
- Known For: Dictator of the Dominican Republic
- Also Known As: Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, Nicknames: El Jefe (The Boss), El Chivo (The Goat)
- Born: October 24, 1891 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic
- Died: May 30, 1961 on a coastal highway between Santo Domingo and Haina in the Dominican Republic
What is the nickname of Rafael Trujillo?
Rafael Trujillo. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina (/truːˈhiːjoʊ/; Spanish: [rafaˈel leˈoniðas tɾuˈxiʝo]; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), nicknamed El Jefe (Spanish: [el ˈxefe], "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican politician, soldier and dictator, who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961.
When did Rafael Trujillo die?
... (Show more) ... (Show more) Rafael Trujillo, in full Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, (born Oct. 24, 1891, San Cristóbal, Dom.Rep.—died May 30, 1961, Ciudad Trujillo, near San Cristóbal), dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961.
What was the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo?
Rafael Trujillo, in full Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina, (born Oct. 24, 1891, San Cristóbal, Dom.Rep.—died May 30, 1961, Ciudad Trujillo, near San Cristóbal), dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. The dictatorship of Trujillo (1930–61) was one of the longest, cruelest, and most absolute in modern times.
What did Trujillo do for the Dominican Republic?
While successful in reducing foreign debt, modernizing his country and fostering greater economic prosperity for the Dominican people, Trujillo and his heinous human rights abuses—including the torture and murder of thousands of civilians—managed to escape rebuke from the international community for decades.
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What was Trujillo known for?
General Rafael Leonidas Trujillo came to power in 1930 and established an oppressive dictatorship in the Dominican Republic that lasted until his assassination in 1961.
Who was Rafael Trujillo and what impact did he have on the DR?
Dictator Rafael Trujillo became president of the Dominican Republic in 1930 through political maneuvering and torture. He officially held the office until 1938, when he chose a puppet successor. He resumed his official position from 1942 to 1952, but continued to rule by force until his assassination on May 30, 1961.
How did Trujillo maintain power?
Trujillo would not allow any opposition to his government and he went to any means necessary to keep his power. These means included assassinating any political opponent and imprisoning and torturing any citizen who spoke out against his government.
Why was Rafael Trujillo called the goat?
Trujillo's sobriquet first emerged among the underground opposition to Trujillo, who called him ''the goat'' while they were conspiring to assassinate him to camouflage the plot from authorities, a moniker which became public after his death when crowds dressed effigies of Trujillo as a devil and burned them as they ...
Was Rafael Trujillo a good president?
The dictatorship of Trujillo (1930–61) was one of the longest, cruelest, and most absolute in modern... Competent in business, capable in administration, and ruthless in politics, Trujillo brought a degree of peace and prosperity to the republic that it had not previously enjoyed.
What bad things did Rafael Trujillo do?
At the age of 16, Trujillo got a job as a telegraph operator, which he held for about three years. Shortly after Trujillo turned to crime: cattle stealing, check counterfeiting, and postal robbery. He spent several months in prison, which did not deter him, as he later formed a violent gang of robbers called the 42.
How was Trujillo corrupted?
Although his reputation became tarnished after reports of a massacre against an estimated 20,000 Haitians became public in 1937, it wasn't until his failed assassination attempt on Venezuelan President Romulo Betancourt in 1960 that the Organization of American States (OAS) finally voted to sever relations with the ...
What did Trujillo do to the Mirabal sisters?
On the way back, Trujillo's henchmen stopped their car along a mountain road and killed their driver, Rufino de la Cruz, before kidnapping the sisters at gunpoint, beating and strangling them. The assassins then put the four bodies back in the car and pushed it over a cliff to make it look like an accident.
Is Feast of the Goat true?
Her story (and the book as a whole) ends when she recounts the terrible events that led to her leaving the country at the age of 14. Vargas Llosa interlaces fictional elements and historical events: the book is not a documentary and the Cabral family, for instance, is completely fictional.
What did Trujillo do to the Dominican Republic?
During his oppressive dictatorship Trujillo was credited with improving sanitation, constructing new roads, schools and hospitals, and increasing the general standard of living for the Dominican people.
What bad things did Rafael Trujillo do?
At the age of 16, Trujillo got a job as a telegraph operator, which he held for about three years. Shortly after Trujillo turned to crime: cattle stealing, check counterfeiting, and postal robbery. He spent several months in prison, which did not deter him, as he later formed a violent gang of robbers called the 42.
What happened to the Dominican Republic after Trujillo died?
After Rafael Trujillo's assassination in 1961, Balaguer tried to liberalize the government, and the Organization of American States (OAS) lifted the economic sanctions that had been imposed during Trujillo's dictatorship.
Who is Trujillo in the Time of the Butterflies?
The dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930-61, and the antagonist of the novel. Trujillo seized power as the head of the army and then rules behind puppet presidents.
Who Was Rafael Trujillo?
Dictator Rafael Trujillo became president of the Dominican Republic in 1930 through political maneuvering and torture. He officially held the office until 1938, when he chose a puppet successor. He resumed his official position from 1942 to 1952, but continued to rule by force until his assassination on May 30, 1961.
What was Trujillo's military career?
When the U.S. Marines, then occupying the Dominican Republic, offered him the opportunity to train as an officer for the country's first municipal police force, the Constabulary Guard, Trujillo jumped at the chance.
How long did Trujillo rule?
He resumed his official position from 1942 until 1952 but subsequently continued to rule by force until his death in 1961.
What was the name of the city that Trujillo renamed?
Upon completing renovations, Trujillo renamed Santo Domingo "Ciudad Trujillo.". During his additional years in office, Trujillo continued to use his power for personal profit. He took total control of all major industries and financial institutions.
How did Trujillo use the disaster?
Trujillo used the disaster as an excuse to impose martial law on all citizens. He also imposed "emergency taxes" and even seized the bank accounts of his opposition. Trujillo spent the next six years renovating the city and building several monuments in his own honor.
How old was Trujillo when he took a job?
Because Trujillo hired someone to rewrite his family history once he came into power, the true facts of his background remain uncertain. When Trujillo was 16 years old, he took a job as a telegraph operator.
What was the purpose of Trujillo's campaign?
During Trujillo's campaign, he organized a secret police force to torture and murder supporters of the opposing candidate. Not surprisingly, Trujillo won the election by a landslide. Shortly into Trujillo's first term, Santo Domingo, the Dominican capital, was devastated by a hurricane.
What is the sign of the Trujillo era?
Trujillo era sign, which reads in Spanish: "In this household, Trujillo is a national symbol". Trujillo was eligible to run again in 1938, but, citing the United States example of two presidential terms, he stated, "I voluntarily, and against the wishes of my people, refuse re-election to the high office.".
What year was the stamp issued for Trujillo?
Stamp issued in 1933 on the occasion of Trujillo's 42nd birthday. Three and a half weeks after Trujillo ascended to the presidency, the destructive Hurricane San Zenon hit Santo Domingo and left 2,000 dead.
How much was the Haitian reparation settlement?
Under pressure from Washington, Trujillo agreed to a reparation settlement in January 1938 of US$750,000. By the next year, the amount had been reduced to US$525,000 (US$9.45 million in 2021); 30 dollars per victim, of which only two cents were given to survivors because of corruption in the Haitian bureaucracy.
What was the Dominican Republic in 1916?
In 1916, the United States occupied the Dominican Republic, which had threatened to default on foreign debts. The occupying force soon established a Dominican army constabulary to impose order. Trujillo joined the National Guard in 1918 and trained with the US Marines. Seeing an opportunity, Trujillo impressed the recruiters and won promotion from cadet to general and commander-in-chief of the Army in only nine years.
How many terms did Trujillo serve?
He served for two terms, which he lengthened to five years each. In 1952, under pressure from the Organization of American States, he ceded the presidency to his brother, Héctor. Despite being officially out of power, Rafael Trujillo organized a major national celebration to commemorate 25 years of his rule in 1955.
What is the Spanish name for the former dictator of the Dominican Republic?
Rafael Trujillo. This article is about the former dictator of the Dominican Republic. For the Spanish sailor, see Rafael Trujillo (sailor). In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Trujillo and the second or maternal family name is Molina. This article needs additional citations for verification.
When did the Dominican Republic change its capital?
In 1936 , at the suggestion of Mario Fermín Cabral, the Congress of the Dominican Republic voted overwhelmingly to change the name of the capital from Santo Domingo to Ciudad Trujillo. The province of San Cristóbal was renamed to "Trujillo" and the nation's highest peak, Pico Duarte, to Pico Trujillo.
How did Trujillo control the Dominican Republic?
From that time until his assassination 31 years later, Trujillo remained in absolute control of the Dominican Republic through his command of the army, by placing family members in office, and by having many of his political opponents murdered.
How did Trujillo's assassination happen?
He began to lose support in the army, and this led to his assassination by machine-gun fire as he was driving to his San Cristóbal farm. Many of the supposed assassins, including Gen. J.T. Díaz, were subsequently captured and executed.
How long did Trujillo serve as president?
He served officially as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952. Competent in business, capable in administration, and ruthless in politics, Trujillo brought a degree of peace and prosperity to the republic that it had not previously enjoyed.
When did Trujillo join the Dominican Army?
Trujillo maintained complete... Trujillo entered the Dominican army in 1918 and was trained by U.S. Marines during the U.S. occupation (1916–24) of the country. He rose from lieutenant to commanding colonel of the national police between 1919 and 1925, becoming a general in 1927.
What is the difference between murder and manslaughter?
murder, in criminal law, the unjustified killing of one person by another, usually distinguished from the crime of manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought. See…
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Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. ...
One of Latin America's Most Brutal Dictators
President Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina of the Dominican Republic in military uniform. Bettmann / Getty Images
Early Life
Trujillo was born of mixed-race ancestry to a lower-class family in San Cristóbal, a town on the outskirts of Santo Domingo. He began his military career during the U.S. occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916-1924) and was trained by U.S. marines in the newly formed Dominican National Guard (eventually renamed the Dominican National Police).
Rise to Power
Trujillo eventually rose to Chief of the Dominican National Police, all the while engaging in shady business deals related to the purchase of military food, clothes and equipment, from which he began to amass wealth.
The Trujillo Agenda: Repression, Corruption and Modernization
Trujillo proceeded to murder and jail his opponents after the election. He also established a paramilitary force, La 42, designed to persecute his opponents and generally instill fear in the population. He exerted full control over the island's economy, establishing monopolies over salt, meat and rice production.
The Haitian Question
One of Trujillo's most well-known legacies was his racist attitudes toward Haiti and the Haitian sugarcane laborers who lived near the border. He stoked the historic Dominican prejudice against Black Haitians, advocating a "'deafricanization' of the nation and restoration of 'Catholic values'" (Knight, 225).
Trujillo's Downfall and Death
Dominican exiles opposed to the Trujillo regime carried out two failed invasions, one in 1949 and one in 1959. However, things shifted in the region once Fidel Castro succeeded in overthrowing Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista in 1959.
Legacy
There was widespread rejoicing by Dominicans when they learned that Trujillo had died. Bandleader Antonio Morel released a merengue (the national music of the Dominican Republic) shortly after Trujillo's death called " Mataron al Chivo " (They killed the goat); "the goat" was one of Trujillo's nicknames.
How many children did Rafael Trujillo have?
There were 11 children in the family and Rafael was the third child. He attended the school of Juan Hilario Meriño at the age of six in 1897. rafael trujillo facts.
What is the bloodiest era in the history of the world?
Facts about Rafael Trujillo 2: the bloodiest era. Trujillo Era is always associated with bloodiest era due to the death of more than 50,000 people. 10,000 of them probably were dead during the Parsley Massacre.
How long was Rafael Trujillo in power?
Then he was selected again as the president in 1942 until 1952. The era during his leadership is called as the Trujillo Era. He was in power for 31 years.
What are some interesting facts about Rafael Trujillo 3?
Facts about Rafael Trujillo 3: dictatorship. Trujillo applied the dictatorship during his 30 years of rule. The country was prosperous and stable. However, the human rights were violated and the price was high. There were no civil liberties in the country. Check Also: ( 10 Facts about Rafael Correa)
What is the name of the Dominican president who was assassinated?
Home > Presidents > 10 Facts about Rafael Trujillo. Find out the information about the Dominican soldier and politician on Facts about Rafael Trujillo. He was known as the ruler of Dominican Republic in 1930. In May 1961, he was assassinated. His nickname was El Jefe.
How old was Trujillo when he worked at the Telegraph?
Trujillo worked a telegraph operator when he was 16 years old. He worked there for 3 years.
What did the people who supported Trujillo say about his leadership?
The people who supported Trujillo stated that his leadership brought the improved infrastructure and economy.
How many times did Rafael Trujillo marry?
Personal Life. Rafael Trujillo married three times and had several other mistresses. His first marriage was to Aminta Ledesma Lachapelle on August 13, 1913. On March 30, 1927, he married Bienvenida Ricardo Martínez, with whom he had a daughter Odette Trujillo Richardo. They divorced in 1935.
What was the Rafael Trujillo government?
Presidency. Rafael Trujillo government was that of nepotism with family and associates given high positions. His first term of office was from 1930 to 1938 and served again from 1942 to 1952 when he ceded power to his brother Hector Trujillo.
Where was Rafael Leónidas Trujillo born?
Early Life. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina was born on October 24, 1891, in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic. He was born to José "Pepito" Trujillo Valdez and Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier as the third of eleven children. His stepbrother was Luis Rafael "Nene" Trujillo. He started his education in the school of Juan Hilario Meriño at age six.
What was the name of the gang that Trujillo formed?
He formed a notorious gang called the 42 to terrorise people.
How long did Trujillo rule?
Born on October 24, 1891, his authoritarian rule of the country lasted three decades, from February 1930 to his assassination in 1961. His government is considered as one of the cruel and bloodiest ever in modern history. Trujillo came to power during a revolt against President Horacio Vásquez in 1930 and maintained power until his death.
What was Trujillo involved in?
Trujillo was involved in check counterfeiting, cattle stealing and other robberies.
What happened to Santo Domingo?
Soon after taking office in 1930, Santo Domingo was hit by Hurricane San Zenon, causing the death of about 2000 people. In response, Rafael Trujillo placed the country under martial law. After the rebuilding of the Santa Domingo, he renamed it Ciudad Trujillo in his honour.
how did rafael trujillo die?
In an election, Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo "received" more votes than the number of voters.
Why did Trujillo use the treasury as a piggy bank?
Besides killing and imprisoning thousands, Trujillo also used his country's treasury as a personal piggy bank to make him and his family very wealthy.
What laws did Trujillo enact?
By 1938 there was no opposition to Trujillo or Dominican Party left in the country. He enacted swee ping, draconian laws that put the entire country in a police state, allowing him to arrest or kill any known opposition leaders.
What did Trujillo think of race?
Trujillo's views on race were complicated to say the least. He clearly favored European immigration, but he viewed black Americans in a similar way. He had an open disdain for Haitians, which is most evident in the Parsley Massacre, where more than 20,000 Haitians were killed near the border by Dominican troops in 1937.
How many children did El Jefe have?
El Jefe was married three times and had many mistresses, which he often flaunted in the open. He had at least seven children.
Where did Fidel go to overthrow Trujillo?
In 1947 Fidel went to the Dominican Republic to join an attempt to overthrow Rafael Trujillo, but the attempt failed.
Who was the head of the police and army in 1930?
Tru jillo became head of the police and army in 1930 under President Rafael Estrella as a reward for allowing Estrella to come to power during the coup. Estrella then stepped aside, allowing Trujillo to run for president as the Dominican Party candidate.
How did Trujillo die?
It was late evening when Trujillo was shot dead in a gun battle on the road that leads from the capital to San Cristobal, where the dictator kept a young mistress. In their vehicle, Gen Imbert and three other conspirators were waiting for Trujillo's chauffeur-driven Chevrolet to come past. Gen Imbert was driving.
How long did Gen Imbert hide in his house?
Gen Imbert owes his survival to the courage of the Italian consul in Santo Domingo who allowed him to hide in his house for six months.
What was the only way to get rid of Trujillo?
The only way to get rid of him was to kill him.". Gen Imbert is not alone in having drawn this conclusion. In a letter to his State Department superior in October 1960, Henry Dearborn, de facto CIA station chief in the Dominican Republic, wrote: "If I were a Dominican, which thank heaven I am not," I would favour destroying Trujillo as being ...
What was Trujillo's rule?
Rafael Trujillo's rule is considered one of the most brutal periods in the history of the Dominican Republic. Taking power in 1930, his hold over the country was absolute. He brooked no opposition. Those who dared to oppose him were imprisoned, tortured and murdered.
Why was General Imbert given the rank of General?
General Imbert - he was given the military rank later to enable him to receive a state pension - is officially a national hero.
What was the name of the city that Trujillo renamed?
He renamed the capital city Ciudad Trujillo, and the country's highest mountain Pico Trujillo.
How many of Gen. Imbert's conspirators were killed?
Two of Gen Imbert's fellow conspirators were killed in gun battles while resisting arrest. The other four were imprisoned and later shot.
Early years
- Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina was the third of 11 children, born to lower-middle-class parents in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, on October 24, 1891. After receiving an elementary education, he worked as a telegraph operator and a guard on a sugar plantation.
Military career
- During the United States occupation of the Dominican Republic from 1916 to 1924, Trujillo joined the Constabulary Guard and was trained by U.S. Marines. His military career quickly progressed and by 1927 he was named commander in chief of the National Army.
Prelude
- In 1930, a group of rebels under the leadership of Rafael Estrella Urena planned to overthrow Dominican President Horacio Vasquez for disregarding the constitution by extending his presidential term. General Trujillo, with whom Urena had previously made an arrangement, held his troops back as the revolution unfolded, maintaining his neutrality. With Vasquez in exile and t…
Aftermath
- Within months of taking over the presidency, the capital city of Santo Domingo was virtually destroyed and 2,000 people were killed by a hurricane that ripped through the Dominican Republic in early September. Trujillo responded by placing the country under martial law and quickly began to clear the debris and rebuild the city. Six years later he renamed the capital Cuidad Trujillo in hi…
Achievements
- During his oppressive dictatorship Trujillo was credited with improving sanitation, constructing new roads, schools and hospitals, and increasing the general standard of living for the Dominican people. But his practice of securing kickbacks on all public works contracts and monopolizing a vast array of lucrative industries ensured that the increased economic prosperity was disproport…
Later life
- Despite the fact that he technically ceded the presidency to his brother Hector in 1952 and 1957 and installed Joaquin Balaguer in 1960, Trujillo retained ultimate control over the Dominican Republic for 31 years. The secret police force he established included a widespread network of spies that was used to censor the press and to threaten, expel, torture or kill dissenters in orche…
Background
- Before a definitive border had been established in 1936, disputes between the Dominican Republic and neighboring country of Haiti had persisted for centuries. Trujillo feared the darkening of Dominican people and publicly promoted anti-Haitian sentiments. In October 1937, amid reports of Haitians stealing cattle and crops from Dominicans along the northwest border, Trujill…
Death
- Meanwhile, underground resistance movements had arisen in opposition to the dictator since the 1940s, but they were often swiftly suppressed, as was the case with the three revolutionary Mirabal sisters who were notoriously killed by Trujillos henchmen in a purported car accident in 1960. On May 30, 1961, however, Rafael Trujillo was ambushed while traveling home in his car a…
Overview
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina , nicknamed El Jefe (Spanish: [el ˈxefe], "The Chief" or "The Boss"), was a Dominican dictator who ruled the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until his assassination in May 1961. He served as president from 1930 to 1938 and again from 1942 to 1952, ruling for the rest of the time as an unelected military strongman under figurehead presidents. His rule of 31 …
Early life
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo y Molina was born on 24 October 1891 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic, into a lower-middle-class family. His father was José Trujillo Valdez, the son of Silveria Valdez Méndez of colonial Dominican origin and José Trujillo Monagas, a Spanish sergeant who arrived in Santo Domingo as a member of the Spanish reinforcement troops during the annexation era. Trujillo's mother was Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier, later known as Mama Julia, the daug…
Rise to power
In 1916, the United States began its occupation of the Dominican Republic following 28 revolutions in 50 years. At the time, Trujillo was twenty-five and worked as a guardacampestre, controlling sugar cane workers at a plantation in Boca Chica. The occupying force soon established a Dominican army constabulary to impose order. Trujillo joined the National Guard in 1918 with t…
In government
Three and a half weeks after Trujillo ascended to the presidency, the destructive Hurricane San Zenon hit Santo Domingo and left 2,000 dead. As a response to the disaster, Trujillo placed the Dominican Republic under martial law and began to rebuild the city. He renamed the rebuilt capital of the Dominican Republic Ciudad Trujillo ("Trujillo City") in his honor and had streets, monuments, and la…
Personality cult
In 1936, at the suggestion of Mario Fermín Cabral, the Congress of the Dominican Republic voted overwhelmingly to change the name of the capital from Santo Domingo to Ciudad Trujillo. The province of San Cristóbal was renamed to "Trujillo" and the nation's highest peak, Pico Duarte, to Pico Trujillo. Statues of "El Jefe" were mass-produced and erected across the Dominican Re…
Oppression
Brutal oppression of actual or perceived members of the opposition was the key feature of Trujillo's rule from the very beginning in 1930 when his gang, "The 42", led by Miguel Angel Paulino, drove through the streets in their red Packard "carro de la muerte" ("car of death"). Trujillo also maintained an execution list of people throughout the world who he felt were his direct enemies or who he felt had wronged him. He even once allowed an opposition party to form and permitted i…
Immigration
Trujillo was known for his open-door policy, accepting Jewish refugees from Europe, Japanese migration during the 1930s, and exiles from Spain following its civil war. At the 1938 Évian Conference the Dominican Republic was the only country willing to accept many Jews and offered to accept up to 100,000 refugees on generous terms. In 1940 an agreement was signed and Trujillo donated 26,000 acres (110 km ) of his properties for settlements. The first settlers arrive…
Environmental policy
The Trujillo regime greatly expanded the Vedado del Yaque, a nature reserve around the Yaque del Sur River. In 1934 he banned the slash-and-burn method of clearing land for agriculture, set up a forest warden agency to protect the park system, and banned the logging of pine trees without his permission. In the 1950s the Trujillo regime commissioned a study on the hydroelectric potential of damming the Dominican Republic's waterways. The commission concluded that only foreste…
Early Life
Rise to Power
- Trujillo eventually rose to Chief of the Dominican National Police, all the while engaging in shady business deals related to the purchase of military food, clothes and equipment, from which he began to amass wealth. Trujillo demonstrated a ruthless tendency to remove enemies from the army, place allies in key positions, and consolidate power, which is how he became the comman…
The Trujillo Agenda: Repression, Corruption and Modernization
- Trujillo proceeded to murder and jail his opponents after the election. He also established a paramilitary force, La 42, designed to persecute his opponents and generally instill fear in the population. He exerted full control over the island's economy, establishing monopolies over salt, meat and rice production. He engaged in blatant corruption an...
The Haitian Question
- One of Trujillo's most well-known legacies was his racist attitudes toward Haiti and the Haitian sugarcane laborers who lived near the border. He stoked the historic Dominican prejudice against Black Haitians, advocating a "'deafricanization' of the nation and restoration of 'Catholic values'" (Knight, 225). Despite his own mixed race identity, and the fact that he himself had a Haitian gra…
Trujillo's Downfall and Death
- Dominican exiles opposed to the Trujillo regime carried out two failed invasions, one in 1949 and one in 1959. However, things shifted in the region once Fidel Castro succeeded in overthrowing Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batistain 1959. In order to help the Dominicans overthrow Trujillo, Castro armed a military expedition in 1959 composed mostly of exiles but also some Cuban mili…
Legacy
- There was widespread rejoicing by Dominicans when they learned that Trujillo had died. Bandleader Antonio Morel released a merengue (the national music of the Dominican Republic) shortly after Trujillo's death called "Mataron al Chivo" (They killed the goat); "the goat" was one of Trujillo's nicknames. The song celebrated his death and declared May 30 a "day of freedom." Ma…
Sources
- Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking Penguin, 2000.
- Knight, Franklin W. The Caribbean: The Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
- Moya Pons, Frank. The Dominican Republic: A National History. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiene…
- Gonzalez, Juan. Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America. New York: Viking Penguin, 2000.
- Knight, Franklin W. The Caribbean: The Genesis of a Fragmented Nationalism, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
- Moya Pons, Frank. The Dominican Republic: A National History. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1998.
