The Cemetery of Untold Stories

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo (1891-1961) is known as one of the most brutal dictators in the Americas. During the US occupation of the DR, US Marines trained Trujillo, and he quickly rose through the military ranks. President Vásquez appointed him as head of the National Police in 1924 and made him a brigadier general in 1928. Trujillo militarized the police force, turning it into an army. In 1930, rebel forces waged a coup d’état against Vásquez, but Trujillo made a deal with the rebel’s leader, and Vásquez was ousted. Trujillo then won the presidency in an election in 1930 and served until 1938, then served again from 1942 to 1952. However, from the time he first took office until his assassination in 1961, Trujillo, known as El Jefe (the chief or boss), always controlled the military. For this reason, he retained control of the country even when someone else had the presidency in name. During his regime, he curtailed civil liberties and used his security forces to arrest or kill his political rivals. It is estimated that he was responsible for the murders of up to 50,000 people, including some assassinations overseas. In October of 1937, he ordered the massacre of an estimated 14,000 to as many as 40,000 Haitians, who were living near the northwestern border. This event, known as the Parsley Massacre, stands as Trujillo’s most brutal decision and forced an end to his first presidency. It also remains an issue in Dominican-Haitian relations today.

In 1960, Trujillo brought about the murders of the three Mirabal sisters, who were vocal opponents to his regime, and the growing list of attempted and achieved assassinations overseas finally led to an international outcry. The Organization of American States imposed sanctions on the DR and began funding Trujillo’s opposition. The military turned on Trujillo as well, and he was assassinated in 1961. However, the legacy that Trujillo leaves behind is somewhat mixed, for despite his violent tactics, the Dominican economy improved during his regime, and he banned slash-and-burn logging methods in order to preserve forests. He also instated one of the most open immigration policies in the Americas, and he welcomed Jews fleeing Nazi violence and Spaniards fleeing their Civil War. He also granted entry to Japanese migrants prior to World War II. However, even these ostensibly benign acts concealed a more sinister motivation; he favored white immigrants and refugees because he sought to purge Haitians and other Black people from the Dominican Republic.