The Dominican Republic, and its owner, Rafael Leonidas Trujillo

Some people finally had enough of his reign and did something about it. People called him “El Jefe”, meaning The Chief or The Boss. The citizens were usually obedient to him because they feared his punishment. Any resistance against him was dealt with harshly and any rebel usually ended up “disappearing from the face of the earth” (Radeska). The incident that really got people to rebel against him was his assassination attempt against Venezuela’s president, Romulo Betancourt. Many people tried to kill him but failed. Finally on May 30, 1961 a group shot and killed him, while he was on the way to San Cristóbal. The group of people that were involved in his killing were Amado Garcia Guerrero, Antonio de la Maza, General Juan Tomas Diaz, and General Antonio Imbert Barrera. It was late that evening, General Imbert and the three other people were waiting for Trujillo to drive past. It took multiple shots to take him down. The final shot, that killed him, was from General Imbert. Trujillo was left sprawled dead across the highway, and his reign over the Santa Domingo capital was finally over (“I Shot the Cruellest Dictator in the Americas“). And the prop,r of the Santa Domingo capital were finally free of his

Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina governed the Dominican Republic from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. He is one of the most formidable dictators of the twentieth centuries, and the crimes committed by him and his comrades were in innumerable and hedonistic, from torture and rape to mass murder of Haitians. His American ties brought him into power and his manipulation of US officials allowed him to survive for much longer than should have been fathomable.

Cuban history, like many other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean which have experienced colonial subjugation and imperial interference, is highlighted by tumultuous rebellions. Ever since the revolt of Carlos Manuel de Cespedes in 1868, who took up arms with his slaves to liberate Cuba from Spain’s colonial grasp, the existence of insurrectionists and adamant government opposition in Cuba has flourished. Social revolution and a strong will and practice of nationalism has indelibly characterized Cuban history. Nevertheless, the outcomes of particular movements and struggles for social justice have consistently frustrated revolutionary and radical leaders. Government regimes throughout

General Trujillo rose from obscurity. After the Dominican Government defaulted on its debt to North American creditors in 1905, Washington assumed control of their custom houses, and garnished their receipts. When political instability occurred in 1916, the United States put the Dominican Republic under military occupation, which lasted till 1924. During that period of time the United States Marines created a modern army which was meant to discourage unrest. Trujillo joined the National Guard in 1918 and trained with the United States Marines. Trujillo impressed the recruiters and won promotion from Lieutenant to General and Commander-In-Chief of the

The issues addressed by Castro are very important because he is the first to emphasize the role the Dominican Bartolome de Las Casas not only as a reformer but as an “active agent of Spanish imperialism who contributed to the subjugation of the Ameridians under more paternalistic and benevolent conditions than his contemporaries” (pp. 184). This is a side to the work of Las Casas that is rarely highlighted, therefore it is

As Charles Bergquist observes, "Crises in Colombia tend to generate cycles of violence instead of mutations in the political regime." The reason is simple: regime changes in Colombia tend to produce very little change in anything other than nominal rule. Since Colombia's independence from Spain in the early 19th century, Colombia has seen a series of civil wars and secessions (Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama the last coming rather conveniently at a time when the U.S. was prepared to pay millions for a canal through its nation preparation that later resulted in a multi-million dollar redress to Columbia). Colombia's political history, therefore, has been colored by outside influences pulling on the two dominant liberal and conservative parties, with violent exchanges, and long periods of instability being the consequences. While regime changes have occurred, they have not produced significant improvements. Rather, Colombia in the 20th century has become a nesting ground for paramilitary forces and drug traffickers, with U.S. Central Intelligence operatives contributing heavily to the violent conflict that has risen between regimes. This paper will examine the regime types that preceded the Rojas Pinilla regime in mid-20th century Colombia, analyze their similarities and differences, and discuss the extent to which Rojas Pinilla reached his goals and objectives.

The economy was expanding and the US became more interested in the well being of surrounding economies. The Dominican Republic was in debt to various European nations at this time. They were having problems paying their debts and chose to stop paying them. In response to this issue, President Theodore Roosevelt formulated an extension to the Monroe Doctrine. The Roosevelt Corollary, as it became to be known, gave the US the power to intervene with European powers coming west in an attempt to collect debts.2 The fear was that Europe, in an attempt to collect debts, would occupy and control the country in debt. With the Panama Canal on the scope, this would hinder economic stimulus in the US. President Roosevelt’s beliefs are best captured in the Corollary when he stated:

Rafael Trujillo was the Dominican Republic’s dictator for over 30 years. His rule over the country for 3 decades is a long story to be told. Trujillo is one to think of when remembering the country’s history. He was a man to be feared, keeping control of the country during his two terms of presidency and then as a military land owner exercising authoritarian control. Trujillo was known for his strong anti-black beliefs. He proclaimed the Dominican Republic a white country, only accepting our Indian heritage. For this

Prior to the Great Depression, Chile had prospered amidst the workings of free-market and mercantilist polices. The Great Depression, however, disrupted this, as it brought about the necessity of government intervention in the economy. Indeed, government intervention even stretched so far as to transform Chile into a nation insulated by protectionist policies. Furthermore, the Great Depression had undoubtedly brought about a political crisis in Chile with the ousting of Ibáñez del Campo in 1931, who himself had partaken in a military coup d’état to achieve presidency in the first place. It has even been posited that the nationalization of copper that had begun during the presidency of Ibáñez del Campo and which was completed during the presidency of Salvador Allende in the early 1970s built the foundation for a future international economic boycott, which further

The United States established diplomatic relations with the Dominican in 1884 following its independence from Spain. They are not run by a dictatorship, but through a democracy. They have a Representative Democracy government, which means that all eligible citizens vote on representatives to pass laws for them. The government has about 61% control over the economy down there. Their form of government is a lot like the United States. They have three branches (executive, legislative and judicial) of government and the court is in charge of actions against the President, designated members of his cabinet, and members of Congress.

One of the most speculative experiences of conquest and dictatorship in the history of Latin America has been the socialist and dictatorial regimes in Chile. Chile has gone through multiple times of dictatorship, lead by the military, and also had lapses of a socialist government. The film “Machuca” by Andres Wood provided an insight of the series of social events in Chile in 1973, ranging from inter personal experiences to political issues and the Chilean nation. “Two dictators, Salvador Allende and Augusto Pinochet, both brought tremendous suffering upon the Chilean people -- one through his socialist policies and nationalization of

In Panama, Manuel Noriega–the future dictator—was under the mentorship of Torrijos Herrera, Panama’s unofficial leader. When the grim reaper would come to claim Herrera, Noriega would gain control of Herrera’s leadership role, and in 1981, when Herrera was aboard a plane that crashed into the mountains, Noriega did just that . In order for complete control of Panama, he needed the power of the Panama Defense Force (PDF) at his will, and because of his desire for ultimate power he convinced Ruben Dario Paredes to resign from the leadership position of the PDF. During his complete control of Panama, he was situated as an ally of the United States government because he supplied information to organizations, such as the CIA, DEA, and the Army.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the United States was the most dominant power in the Western Hemisphere. European nations conceded to the United States their right of any intervention in the Western Hemisphere and allowed the United States to do whatever they wanted. The United States took this newly bestowed power and abused it. The United States intervened in many Latin American countries and imposed their policies on to these countries against their will. A perfect example of this aggression is what occurred in the Dominican Republic in 1904. The United States intervened in this sovereign nation and took control of their economy and custom houses. A memorandum from Francis B. Loomis, the United States Assistant

In addition, Mintz mentions the separation of the production from consumption. The Major consumers of sugar were not the hard workers on the plantation, but the far removed citizens of England. The plantation workers were not able to profit from the fruit of

Dominican Republic, President Leonel Fernández, introduced a number of reforms to the country’s economy. With his approval and the approval of the nation treasury, Banco Central, Daez merged his bank with Banco de Comercio (LatinNews, 2013). The terms of this deal were that, Banco Central would absorb Banco de Comercio’s liabilities, leaving BanInter walked away with the profitable portfolios that belonged to Banco de Comercio.