Get To Know Your Dictator: Rafael Trujillo

Dictators as a species are a weird bunch, though possibly none as completely insane as Dominican psychopath and megalomaniac Rafael Trujillo. For thirty years the Dominican Republic lived under this madman’s reign of terror until he was finally put down like a rabid dog. Rafael Trujillo is our dictator for today.

Trujillo started out like many a Latin American strongman, as a military man. In 1930 a rebellion broke out against President Vazquez in Santiago and Trujillo was sent to put the rebellion down. Trujillo entered the city with little resistance and was hailed as a hero. Seeing his opportunity Trujillo had himself put forward as a candidate in the newly created Dominican party in the presidential election. Needles to say he stole the election claiming 95% of the vote…which is impossible. He he assumed the presidency wearing a sash that said “God and Trujillo”, which pretty much was an indication of the insanity to come.

Trujillo was not unlike many ancient despots such as Nero or Caligula in that he thought he was God. Not little “g” god, but big “G” God.  Trujillo once changed a poster that was plastered around Santo Domingo from “God in Heaven and Trujillo on Earth” to “Trujillo on Earth and God in Heaven.” He renamed Santo Domingo into Ciudad Trujillo and put statues of himself everywhere. The newspapers were required by law to have a front page picture of him every day and “Viva Trujillo!” was written on license plates. That is grade-A 100% madness, amigo.

His megalomania was only the beginning, as he set about one of the bloodiest dictatorships in the history of Latin America. Wishing to seize control of the entire island of Hispañola, he engineered attacks on the Haitian border that led to at least 30,000 deaths. His secret police force the SIM, were merciless thugs who would torture and kill anyone who Trujillo even thought might consider the idea of displeasing him. He and his band of psychos were known to troll the countryside for beautiful young women to rape and murder. Most notorious was the death of the three Mirabal sisters, who were brutally tortured to death for opposing Trujillo’s regime, sparking international outrage.  It seems like something out of a horror story, but as any Dominican can tell you it was all too true.

In 1961 the people and the United States had had enough of this jackass and the CIA helped a group of plotters to assassinate Trujillo. The United States had tolerated Trujillo because he stood as a buffer against communist encroachment in Latin America, but in spite of being the same year as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the U.S. decided Cold War Politics needed to take a backseat to getting rid of this asswipe. He was shot dead in his car in May of 1961 and his thug apparatus began to be undone. Trujillo was buried in Pere Lechaise cemetery in Paris along with Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo, and later Jim Morrison. He died a self important fuckwad to the end.

Rafael Trujillo has a lesson to teach us about the dangers of demagogues. The minute you bow down to any man, no matter how much he promises to help you, you become their slave. Rulers like Trujillo have existed since the beginning of civilization and are likely to crop up again. So, if you here someone comparing themselves to god, you are within your rights to bash their head in with a brick. We give you permission.