Violent disputes between the opposition and police forces often broke out as NCU supporters taunted soldiers with jeers of “Boo Boo Balaguer!”. Viriato Fillao, NCU supporters and other anti-Trujillo groups effectively shut down businesses and felled trees across streets to block public transit. When Balaguer refused to resign or consolidate power, the NCU called for a general strike to weaken the Balaguer government. Anti-Trujillo groups and the civilian-supported National Civic Union (NCU) demanded that President Joaquin Balaguer, who had been installed in office by Trujillo and who continued to implement the regime’s oppressive policies, resign from his position and allow free democratic elections to ensue. The killing initiated a national cry for democratic change and free general elections. Thus, the assassination of El Jefe in May of 1961 brought major tumultuous changes to the small Caribbean nation. During this time, it was not uncommon for a critic of the Trujillo regime to be kidnapped by thugs driving license-less black cars and to be found days later lying beaten, bloody, and broken in the sugarcane fields. Newspapers and other media outlets were strictly censored and Trujillo’s gangs of secret police terrorized the public. Century, the Dominican Republic remained under the rule of the dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, nicknamed “El Jefe.” With major support from the United States, the Trujillo dictatorship remained intact for over thirty years, during which brutal oppression and secret killings of political dissidents were the norm.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |