Rafael Trujillo
1891 – 1961 Dominican army general, dictator, president
The Dominican dictator who ran the country as personal property for three decades until his assassination.
- Religion
- Roman Catholic
- Affiliations
- Dominican military; trained by US Marines
Rafael Trujillo rose through a National Guard created under US occupation and seized power in the Dominican Republic in 1930. He ruled through terror and a personality cult, and his forces carried out the 1937 massacre of thousands of Haitians. Once a US ally, he lost Washington's favor late in his rule and was assassinated in 1961 by conspirators who had received some CIA support.
In the timeline
- 1961 CIA arms Dominican conspirators against Trujillo mentioned
- 1961 Rafael Trujillo assassinated central figure
- 1961 Trujillo's Dominican Republic and the 1965 intervention mentioned