General Rafael L. Trujillo

General Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina (October 24, 1891 – May 30, 1961) was the ruler of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until 1961, ruling as president (1930-1938, 1942-1952) and as essentially an unelected dictator. Rafael Trujillo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Rafael Trujillo File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... October 24 is the 297th day of the year (298th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 68 days remaining. ... 1891 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year - i. ... A ruler is a person in charge of a country. ... The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking representative democracy located on the eastern portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bordering Haiti. ... 1930 is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Dictator was the title of a magistrate in ancient Rome appointed by the Senate to rule the state in times of emergency. ...

Biography

Trujillo was born to poor mixed race parents in San Cristóbal. During the United States occupation (1916-1924), Trujillo joined the National Guard, trained by the United States Marines to maintain order after the occupation. Quickly rising to high rank, Trujillo overthrew President Horacio Vásquez in 1930. After a devastating hurricane destroyed much of Santo Domingo, Trujillo devised a rebuilding plan to modernize the city, which he renamed Ciudad Trujillo (Trujillo City). He also renamed the highest mountain of the country Pico Trujillo (Trujillo Peak) after himself. Statues of himself were everywhere in the Republic. United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is the second smallest of the five branches of the United States armed forces, with 170,000 active and 40,000 reserve Marines as of 2002. ... Santo Domingo, population 2,061,200 (2003), is the capital of the Dominican Republic. ... Ciudad Trujillo (Spanish for Trujillo City) was the name by which Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, was temporarily known between 1936 and 1961. ...

Trujillo gained international attention for his rather open policy of allowing Jewish immigration from Europe in the 1930s, at a time when larger and wealthy nations were turning back Jewish refugees. Some historians regard this gesture as a public relations ploy and perhaps as an attempt by Trujillo to "whiten" the predominantly mixed race nation. After the Spanish Civil War, he also encouraged the immigration of Republican exiles for a fee. The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ... World map showing location of Europe A satellite composite image of Europe Europe is geologically and geographically a peninsula, forming the westernmost part of Eurasia. ... Events and trends Technology Jet engine invented Science Nuclear fission discovered by Otto Hahn, Lise Meitner and Fritz Strassmann Pluto, the ninth planet from the Sun, is discovered by Clyde Tombaugh British biologist Arthur Tansley coins term ecosystem War, peace and politics Socialists proclaim The death of Capitalism Rise to... Alternative meaning: Spanish Civil War, 1820-1823 A republican soldier seeks cover on the Plaza de Toros in Teruel, east of Madrid. ... Flag of the Spanish Republics. ...

While encouraging European immigration, he ordered Dominican troops to massacre 20,000 black Haitian sugar cane workers in 1937. It is said they were identified as immigrants, and then murdered by the truckload, if they could not pronounce the letter r in "perejil" the Spanish word for parsley. This event is the subject of the poem "Parsley" by Rita Dove the former Poet Laureate of the United States (and the first African-American to hold that position). Trujillo, who himself was of mixed ancestry, was said to have worn makeup to give himself a whiter appearance, and favored garish uniforms and other militaristic trappings. Haiti is a country situated on the western third of the island of Hispaniola and the smaller islands of Gonâve, Tortue (Tortuga), Grande Caye, and Vache in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba; the Dominican Republic shares Hispaniola with Haiti. ... Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952 in Akron, Ohio, USA) is a United States poet and author. ... Militarism is the ideology that military strength is the source of all security. ...

Trujillo symbolically sided with the Allies during World War II, and his anticommunist policies initially gained the favor of the United States. Trujillo undertook many public works projects and openly encouraged foreign investment, giving the Dominican Republic the appearance of a prospering nation. However, corruption became deeply embedded in Dominican society, and by the late 1950s it was estimated that the majority of the country's wealth was in the hands of the Trujillo family. In general, allies are people or groups that have joined an alliance and are working together to achieve some common purpose. ... The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking representative democracy located on the eastern portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, bordering Haiti. ... Events and trends Technology United States tests the first fusion bomb. ...

Ultimately, Trujillo's blundering attempts at intervening in the affairs of other nations led to his isolation. Foreign assassinations and kidnappings of political opponents, and Trujillo's poorly concealed involvement in an attempt on the life of Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt led to economic sanctions from the United States and other Latin American countries. By 1960, the Organization of American States had unanimously approved to attempt to destabilize the Trujillo regime by continuing harsh sanctions and ending diplomatic ties. The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela)1 is a country in northern South America. ... List of Presidents of Venezuela José Antonio Páez (1830-1835) José María Vargas (1835-1837) Carlos Soublette (1837-1839) José Antonio Páez (1839-1843) Carlos Soublette (1843-1847) José Tadeo Monagas (1847-1851) José Gregorio Monagas (1851-1855) José Tadeo Monagas (1855-1858) Julián Castro (1858... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... The Organization of American States (OAS; OEA in the other three official languages) is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA. Its members are the 35 independent nations of the Americas. ...

Adding to the resentment of him was the murder of the Mirabal sisters, which he ordered. The Mirabal sisters were political activists and revolutionaries who were trying to overthrow the government. They were driving home unarmed after they saw their imprisoned husbands when they were picked up by their killers. They were led into a sugar cane patch, and beaten and strangled to death. Patria Mercedes Mirabal (February 27, 1924 - November 25, 1960), Minerva Argentina Mirabal (March 12, 1926 - November 25, 1960) and Antonia Maria Teresa Mirabal (October 15, 1936 - November 25, 1960), were natives of the Dominican Republic that fervently opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. ...

Another famous scandal was the disapparition of Jesús de Galíndez. Galíndez was a Basque exile who initially served the regime and worked as a CIA agent. Later in America, he wrote his thesis "The Age of Trujillo" revealing the functioning of the dictatorship. Days before publication, Galíndez was kidnapped in New York, never to be found again. There had been strong suspicions that he was flown to the Republic to be tortured and executed. The Gernika oak is a symbol of Basque freedoms. ... CIA, see CIA (disambiguation). ...

With the rug pulled from under his regime, Trujillo was shot dead by members of his own armed forces on May 30, 1961 while traveling in an automobile. He was buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris, France. May 30 is the 150th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (151st in leap years). ... 1961 (As MAD Magazine pointed out on its first cover for the year) was the first upside-down year - i. ... A small variety of cars, the most popular kind of automobile. ...

His son, Ramfis Trujillo took power and after brutally repressing any elements believed to be connected with his father's death, and was overthrown and exiled later in 1961. He became an international socialite but died on December 28, 1969 in Spain from injuries suffered in a car accident. December 28 is the 362nd day of the year (363rd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 3 days remaining. ...

While the Trujillo regime was officially ended and places named after Trujillo were restored to their original names, former Trujillistas maintained much of their power within the country until the early 1990s. Events and trends Technology Explosive growth of the Internet; decrease in the cost of computers and other technology Reduction in size and cost of mobile phones leads to a massive surge in their popularity Year 2000 problem (commonly known as Y2K) Microsoft Windows operating system becomes virtually ubiquitous on IBM...

Mario Vargas Llosa wrote a historical novel about Trujillo and his hold over the country entitled The Feast of the Goat. Mario Vargas Llosa The Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa (born March 28, 1936) is one of Latin Americas leading novelists and essayists. ... The Feast of the Goat (Spanish title: La Fiesta del Chivo) (1996) is a novel by the Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa. ...

In the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies, Edward James Olmos plays Trujillo. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... In the Time of the Butterflies is a 2001 movie based on the Julia Alvarez novel of the same name, covering the lives of the Mirabal sisters. ... Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor. ...

He is buried in the famous Parisian cemetary, Cimetière du Père Lachaise per requests of his many relatives who fled into exile to Canada, France, and Spain.

References

1. Forrest, Dave. The Dominican Dictator: Rafael Trujillo (http://www.jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us/classes/social_science/latin_america/dominican_Republic.html). Union City, California: James Logan High School.
2. MSN Encarta. Trujillo Molina, Rafael Leónidas (http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761555326/Rafael_Trujillo.html). Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 2004.