'I shot the cruellest dictator in the Americas'

[dipsydoodle]

Before his assassination on a dark highway on 30 May 1961, the Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, ruled with an iron fist for almost 30 years. Tim Mansel meets one of the men who shot him.

Rafael Trujillo's rule is considered one of the most brutal periods in the history of the Dominican Republic. Taking power in 1930, his hold over the country was absolute. He brooked no opposition.

Those who dared to oppose him were imprisoned, tortured and murdered. Their bodies often disappeared, rumoured to have been fed to the sharks.

In 1937, Trujillo ordered the racially motivated massacre of several thousand Haitians living in the country.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13560512

[Judi Lynn]

1. Thanks for posting the Trujillo assassination article, dipsydoodle. Didn't see it 'til today.

Here's a short summary of his stinking career:

Rafael Trujillo was born in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, in 1891. After leaving school he worked as a telegraph operator. At the time Dominican Republic was occupied by the United States. In 1918 Trujillo joined the Dominican National Guard that had been created by the Americans. He made rapid progress in his new career and by the time the US Marines left in 1924 he was the head of the Dominican National Guard.

In 1930 Trujillo ran against incumbent Horacio Vasquez for president. Trujillo was able to use his power to win the election. He afterwards claimed he had won ninety five percent of the vote. After he gained power Trujillo established a secret police force that tortured and murdered the opposition to his rule.

Trujillo used his political control to obtain great personal wealth. He achieved support from the United States by becoming Latin America's leading anti-communists. Cordell Hull, US Secretary of State (1933-1944), defended Trujillo by saying: " He may be a son-of-a-bitch, but he is our son-of-a-bitch."

More:
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/JFKtrujillo.htm

Thanks for the information infusion.