Dominican Republic under Trujillo

Paper Summary:

This paper first provides a brief history of U.S. relations with the Dominican Republic (1869-1930) and the establishment of the Dominican National Guard by the United States. It examines the U.S. endorsement of Trujillo and Trujillo's subsequent military rise and the election of 1930. The structure and impact of the Dominican Army is analyzed along with the Dominican economy and American investments and Trujillo's economic monopoly.

From the Paper:

"From 1930 until 1961, a ruthless dictator named Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina ruled the Dominican Republic. As a result of his actions as dictator, Trujillo can be accurately described as an ambitious, corrupt, intelligent megalomaniac. In order to maintain absolute control for thirty-one years, Trujillo ran his administration with efficiency and expediency. Trujillo ascended to power in the Dominican Republic through military accomplishment in the Dominican National Guard, an army established by the United States in 1916, during Marine occupation. Throughout Trujillo's dictatorship, the United States continued as a willing participant, both diplomatically and politically. Once securely in a position of power, Trujillo used several tactics in order to maintain his status until his rule as dictator ended with his assassination in 1961. These tactics included the establishment of a single-party state, forced intellectual and educational conformity, and the regular use of a secret police. However, of all the tactics used by the dictator himself, the most effective means of control were his use of both ruthless military power and economic monopoly on the domestic population. Trujillo's methods of gaining and retaining absolute power in the Dominican Republic, coupled with United States influence during his regime, resulted in the proliferation of his dictatorship from 1930 until 1961."

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