Rafael Trujillo ruled the Dominican Republic as a dictator from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He came to power after the U.S. occupation and established an oppressive regime, using secret police and torture to eliminate any opposition. Trujillo amassed wealth through corruption and land theft, and ordered the massacre of Haitians. The Mirabal sisters opposed his rule and were murdered, becoming symbols of resistance. Growing unrest led to Trujillo's assassination in 1961, ending his 31-year "Era of Tyranny".

1. Rafael Trujillo
The Dominican Dictator and His
Era of Tyranny

2. The Beginning of the End
 In 1916 the United States
occupied the Dominican
Republic in an attempt to
establish a stable
democracy.
 In the process, the U.S set
up a Dominican National
Guard and trained
Dominican soldiers.
 In 1924, the United States
pulled out after a somewhat
successful election. Leaving
behind Rafael Trujillo as the
head of the Dominican
National Guard.

3. The “election” of El
Jefe(chief or boss)
 Rafael Trujillo or El Jefe as he came to be called, was the head of the National
Guard through the 1920s under president Vasquez.
 In 1930, a rebellion led by Rafael Estrella broke out against President Vasquez.
The rebels headed from Santiago to the capital of Santo Domingo.
 As head of the National Guard Trujillo was in charge of stopping any
rebellions. In this situation however, Trujillo declared his neutrality and
allowed the rebels to overtake the capital.
 President Vasquez fled leaving rebel leader Estrella(one of Trujillo’s
acquaintances) as active president until the elections later that year.
 In the elections of 1930, Trujillo became president with a suspicious 95% of the
votes.
 The election of Trujillo in 1930 was the beginning of the long and oppressive
“Era of Trujillo”

4. The Era of Trujillo
 Trujillo was the dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930
until his assassination in 1961.
 During his thirty one years of control, the people of the island
of Hispaniola faced oppression and fear at the hands of
Trujillo, his secret police, and his fellow cabinet members.
 Trujillo would not allow any opposition to his government and
he went to any means necessary to keep his power. These
means included assassinating any political opponent and
imprisoning and torturing any citizen who spoke out against his
government. The number of people who died in “accidents”
or who just plain disappeared off the face of the earth was
unnaturally high during the Tyranny of Trujillo.

5. Monumento a la Paz de
Trujillo
 If you were going to build a statue to represent
peace, what would you put on top of it?

6. •This was Trujillo’s idea of peace.

7. The Era of Trujillo (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.

8. The SIM and La Cuarenta
 Under the rule of Trujillo, the citizens of the
Dominican Republic learned to watch what they said
about politics because they knew that someone was
always listening.
 If the SIM suspected a person of not agreeing with
Trujillo, that person would be taken to a secret
location such as La Cuarenta for “questioning”.
 These interrogations often included harsh tortures
and threats to the person’s family.
 Many people never returned home after being
kidnapped by the SIM.

10. Las hermanas Mirabal
 The Mirabal sisters are one
example of the tragedies that
occurred in the era of Trujillo.
 Minerva, Patria, Maria Teresa, and
Dede Mirabal were a group of
sisters who stood up against Trujillo
and did not allow him to control
their beliefs and actions.
 The Mirabal sisters along with their
husbands set up an underground
movement to overthrow the evil
tyrant.
 The sisters and their husbands were
imprisoned and tortured for
conspiring against Trujillo. The
sisters were eventually released,
while their husbands remained
imprisoned.

11. Las hermanas Mirabal (cont.)
 On November 25, 1960 Maria Teresa,
Minerva, and Patria Mirabal along with
their driver were returning from visiting
their imprisoned husbands when they
were stopped on the road by some of
Trujillo’s men. The sisters and the
driver were murdered in a field off the
road and it was presented to the public
as a car accident.
 Everybody knew the sisters as Las
Mariposas and saw through the so called
“accident”. Las Mariposas were heroes
to the Dominican people and this
assassination by Trujillo enraged the
people.
 The movement against Trujillo that the
Mirabal sisters helped to establish only
grew stronger in their death.
 Their courage proved to the Dominican
people that they needed to fight the
tyrant and his goons.

12. In memory of the murder of the Mirabal sisters, November 25 is
now the official international day for the elimination of violence
against women.

13. The end of a tyranny
On May 30, 1961 Rafael Trujillo was
murdered in his car by a group of assassins.
This assassination was the culmination of the
efforts of the Mirabal sisters, the Catorce de
Junio Movement, and all the Dominican
people who did not allow Trujillo to keep
them from standing up for their beliefs and
opinions.