Researching Rafael Trujillo

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 to kill those involved in the death of his father. By 19 November 1961, Trujillo's relatives and allies, such as Joaquín Balaguer, who fled to New York City, were forced to leave the country, but not before killing the surviving members of the assassination plot.

The Trujillo era unfolded in a Hispanic Caribbean environment that was particularly fertile for dictatorial regimes. In the countries of the Caribbean Basin alone, his dictatorship (in whole or in part) was concurrent with those in Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, and Haiti. In retrospect, the Trujillo dictatorship has been characterized as more prominent and more brutal than those that rose and fell around it. Trujillo remains a polarizing figure in the Dominican Republic, 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 rule, which involved mass-killings and violation of civil rights and freedoms.