This is a presentation made to my Introduction into Latin American Civilization and Culture class at Berea College.

1. Dictatorship in the
Caribbean
By: Ivan Santos

2. “
▪A dictatorship is a government or a
social situation where one person
makes all the rules and decisions
without input from anyone else.
What is a Dictatorship?
https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/dictatorship

3. Dominican
Republic
http://bbqboy.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dominican-republic-header.jpg

4. ▪Rafael Trujillo (El Jefe)
 October 24, 1891 – May 30, 1961
 Took office June 16, 1930
Before becoming a Dictator
 Actor
 Soldier
 Kidnapper
 Rapist
In Office
 Officially held office from 1930
-1938
 He chose a puppet successor
 He resumed his official position
from 1942 to 1952
 But continued to rule by force
until his assassination in 1961
Timeline
▪By 1925 Trujillo was promoted to
Commander in Chief
▪By 1930 Trujillo used a secret
police to torture and murder
supporters of the opposing
presidential candidate
▪Upon taking office he used a
hurricane as an excuse to raise
taxes and seize peoples money
▪Over the years of his presidency
he used his power personal gain,
sexual pleasure, and financial
growth

5. ▪Rafael Trujillo (El Jefe) Cont.
▪Trujillo instilled fear in the citizens of his country and forced
them to surrender to his wants and needs.
▪Throughout his dictatorship he amassed a large personal
fortune by stealing people’s land and taking control of a large
portion of the businesses and factories in his country.
▪Trujillo, who’s mother was supposedly 50% Haitian, ordered the
massacre of thousands of Haitians. This was a result of his
racist views against the mostly black Haitians.
▪On May 30, 1961 Rafael Trujillo was murdered in his car by a
group of assassins who were part of the movement started by
Las Mariposas.

6. ▪Las Hermanas Maribal
▪ The Mirabal sisters are one
example of the tragedies because
of Trujillo
▪ Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa, and
Dede Mirabal were a group of
sisters who stood up against
Trujillo
▪ The Mirabal sisters along with their
husbands set up an underground
movement to overthrow Trujillo
▪ They were imprisoned and tortured
for conspiring against Trujillo.
▪ The sisters were eventually
released, while their husbands
remained imprisoned.
▪ On November 25, 1960 the sisters
were returning from visiting their
imprisoned husbands when they
were stopped on the road by some
of Trujillo’s men who escorted
them off the road to kill them
▪ By then, they were known as Las
Mariposas and the movement only
grew stronger in their death
▪ In memory of the murder of the
Mirabal sisters, November 25 is
now the official international day
for the elimination of violence
against women.

7. CUBA
https://images.alphacoders.com/291/291813.jpg

8. ▪Fidel Castro
 August 13, 1926 – November 25, 2016
 Took Office 1959
 Succeeded by Brother Raul Castro to Medical Reasons
Wars Started
 Cuban Revolution
Angolan Civil War
War in Mozambique
Ethiopian Guerilla War
Cuban Missile Crisis
Congo Crisis
El Salvadoran Guerilla War
Nicaraguan Civil War
▪Number of Deaths Attributed
 1,500,000 at home
 100,000 in Angola
 Castro's policies imposed
poverty and slavery on
millions.
 In 1959, Cuba was the second
richest country in Latin
America; today, it is the
second poorest.
 Castro has been accused of
genocide by Genocide Watch.