Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina ( troo-HEE-yoh, Spanish: [rafaˈel leˈoniðas tɾuˈxiʝo moˈlina]; 24 October 1891 – 30 May 1961), 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 years, known to Dominicans as the Trujillo Era (Spanish: El Trujillato), is considered one of the bloodiest political regimes ever in the Americas, and centered around a personality cult of its leader. Trujillo and his regime were responsible for many deaths, including between 12,000 and 30,000 Haitians in the infamous Parsley Massacre.
During his long rule, the Trujillo government extended its policy of state terrorism beyond national borders. Notorious examples of Trujillo's reach abroad are the assassination attempt in Caracas against Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt in 1960, the abduction and subsequent disappearance in New York City of the Spaniard Jesús Galíndez in 1956, the murder of writer José Almoina in Mexico, also a Spaniard, and crimes committed against Cubans, Costa Ricans, Nicaraguans, Americans and Puerto Ricans.By 1960, Trujillo had amassed a net worth of $800 million ($5.3 billion today). On 30 May 1961, Trujillo was assassinated by conspirators sponsored by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). In the immediate aftermath, Trujillo's son Ramfis took temporary control of the country, and vowed revenge for his father. By 19 November 1961, Trujillo's relatives and allies were forced to leave the country. An example is Joaquín Balaguer, who fled to New York City. Before leaving, those allies killed the surviving members of the assassination plot.
The Trujillo era unfolded in a Hispanic Caribbean environment particularly susceptible to dictators. In the countries of the Caribbean Basin alone, his dictatorship overlapped with those in Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, and Haiti. In perspective, the Trujillo dictatorship has been judged more prominent and more brutal than those that surrounded it. Trujillo remains a polarizing figure in the Dominican Republic, as the sheer longevity of his rule makes a detached evaluation difficult. While his supporters credit him for bringing stability and prosperity to the country, others criticize his heavy-handed and violent rule scorning civil rights and freedoms.