Foreign policy Rafael Trujillo

1 foreign policy

1.1 hull–trujillo treaty
1.2 haiti

1.2.1 parsley massacre


1.3 cuba
1.4 betancourt incident

foreign policy

trujillo tended toward peaceful coexistence united states government. during world war ii trujillo sided allies , declared war on germany, italy , japan on 11 december 1941. while there no military participation, dominican republic became founding member of united nations. trujillo encouraged diplomatic , economic ties united states, policies caused friction other nations of latin america, costa rica , venezuela. maintained friendly relations franco of spain, perón of argentina, , somoza of nicaragua. towards end of rule, relationship united states deteriorated.

trujillo paid special attention improving armed forces. military personnel received generous pay , perks under rule, , ranks equipment inventories expanded. trujillo maintained control on officer corps through fear, patronage, , frequent rotation of assignments, inhibited development of strong personal followings. establishment of state monopolies on major enterprises in country brought riches trujillos through price manipulation , embezzlement.

hull–trujillo treaty

early on, trujillo determined dominican financial affairs had put in order, , included ending united states s role collector of dominican customs—a situation had existed since 1907 , confirmed in 1924 convention signed @ end of occupation.

negotiations started in 1936 , lasted 4 years. on 24 september 1940, trujillo , american secretary of state cordell hull signed hull–trujillo treaty, whereby united states relinquished control on collection , application of customs revenues, , dominican republic committed deposit consolidated government revenues in special bank account guarantee repayment of foreign debt. government free set custom duties no restrictions.

this diplomatic success gave trujillo occasion launch massive propaganda campaign presented him savior of nation. law proclaimed benefactor restaurador de la independencia financiera de la republica (restorer of republic s financial independence).

haiti

trujillo–vincent border meeting, 1933

haiti had historically occupied dominican republic, 1822–1844. encroachment haiti ongoing process, , when trujillo took over, northwest border region had become increasingly haitianized. border poorly defined. in 1933, , again in 1935, trujillo met haitian president sténio vincent settle border issue. 1936, reached , signed settlement. @ same time, trujillo plotted against haitian government linking general calixte, commander of garde d haiti, , Élie lescot, @ time haitian ambassador in ciudad trujillo (santo domingo). after settlement, when further border incursions occurred, trujillo initiated parsley massacre.

parsley massacre

known la masacre del perejil in spanish, trujillo started massacre in 1937. claiming haiti harboring former dominican opponents, ordered attack on border slaughtered tens of thousands of haitians tried escape. number of dead still unknown, though calculated between 20,000 , 30,000. haitian response muted, government called international investigation. under pressure washington, trujillo agreed reparation settlement in january 1938 of us$750,000. next year, amount had been reduced us$525,000 (us$8.75 million in 2017); 30 dollars per victim, of 2 cents given survivors, due corruption in haitian bureaucracy.

in 1941, lescot, had received financial support trujillo, succeeded vincent president of haiti. trujillo expected lescot puppet, lescot turned against him. trujillo unsuccessfully tried assassinate him in 1944 plot, , published correspondence discredited him. lescot exiled after 1946 palace coup.

cuba

in 1947 dominican exiles, including juan bosch, had concentrated in cuba. approval , support of cuba s grau government, expeditionary force trained intention of invading dominican republic , overthrowing trujillo. however, international pressure, including united states, made exiles abort expedition. in turn, when fulgencio batista in power, trujillo supported anti-batista supporters of carlos prío socarrás in oriente province in 1955, weapons trujillo sent inherited fidel castro s insurgents when prío allied castro. after 1956, when trujillo saw castro gaining ground, started support batista money, planes, equipment, , men. trujillo, convinced batista prevail, surprised when showed fugitive after being ousted. trujillo kept batista until august 1959 virtual prisoner . after paying between 3 , 4 million u.s. dollars batista leave portugal, had granted him visa.

castro made threats overthrow trujillo, , trujillo responded increasing budget national defense. foreign legion formed defend haiti, many expected castro might invade haitian part of island first , remove françois duvalier well. on june 14, 1959, cuban plane 56 fighting men landed near constanza, dominican republic, wiped out. 6 days later, 140 more invaders in 2 yachts intercepted dominican navy , sunk. trujillo ordered son, ramfis, lead hunt invaders, , captured. leaders of invasion taken aboard dominican air force plane , pushed out in mid-air, falling deaths.

in turn, in august 1959, johnny abbes attempted support anti-castro group led escambray near trinidad, cuba. attempt, however, thwarted when cuban troops surprised plane had sent unloaded cargo.

betancourt incident

by late 1950s, opposition trujillo s regime building fever pitch. younger generation of dominicans had no memory of instability , poverty had preceded him. many clamored democratization. trujillo regime responded greater repression. military intelligence service (sim) secret police, led johnny abbes, remained ubiquitous before. other nations ostracized dominican republic, compounding dictator s paranoia.

trujillo began interfere more in domestic affairs of neighboring countries. expressed great contempt venezuela s president rómulo betancourt. established , outspoken opponent of trujillo, betancourt associated dominicans had plotted against dictator. trujillo developed obsessive personal hatred of betancourt , supported numerous plots venezuelan exiles overthrow him. pattern of intervention led venezuelan government take case against trujillo organization of american states (oas). infuriated trujillo, ordered agents plant bomb in betancourt s car. on 24 june 1960, while betancourt driving through streets of caracas, venezuela, during annual army day parade, powerful bomb exploded in motorcade. bomb had been placed in green oldsmobile parked near parade route , contained 65 kilos of tnt. blast exploded right under car carrying betancourt , party. car sent flying across street. 1 person in auto killed, , betancourt suffered severe burns hands.

the betancourt incident inflamed world opinion against trujillo. outraged oas members voted unanimously sever diplomatic relations government , impose economic sanctions on dominican republic. brutal murder on friday, 25 november 1960, of 3 mirabal sisters, patria, maría teresa , minerva, opposed trujillo s dictatorship, further increased discontent repressive rule. dictator had become embarrassment united states, , relations became strained after betancourt incident.

cite error: there <ref group=note> tags on page, references not show without {{reflist|group=note}} template (see page).