Dominican Civil War
Encyclopedia
The Dominican Civil War better known as Guerra de Abril took place between April 24, 1965 and September 3, 1965, in Santo Domingo
, Dominican Republic
. It is known to be the bloodiest armed conflict in the Dominican Republic in the twentieth century.
". The result of this concern and opposition was a military coup on September 25, 1963.
The coup effectively negated the 1962 elections by installing a civilian junta, known as the "Triunvirato", dominated by the Trujullistas remnants. The initial head of the Triumvirate was Donald Reid C. The Triumvirate never succeeded in establishing its authority over competing conservative factions both inside and outside the military; it also never convinced the majority of the population of its legitimacy. The widespread dissatisfaction with Reid and his government, coupled with lingering loyalties to Bosch, produced a revolution on May 16.
, struck back against the Constitutionalists on April 25. These conservative forces called themselves Loyalists. Despite tank assaults and bombing runs by Loyalist forces, however, the Constitutionalists held their positions in the capital; they appeared poised to branch out and to secure control of the entire country.
Main article: Operation Power Pack
On April 28, the United States
intervened in the civil war. President Lyndon B. Johnson
ordered in forces that eventually totaled 20,000, to secure Santo Domingo
and to restore order. Johnson had acted in the stated belief that the Constitutionalists were dominated by communists and that they therefore could not be allowed to come to power. The intervention was subsequently granted some measure of hemispheric approval by the creation of an OAS
-sponsored peace force, which supplemented the United States military presence in the republic. An initial interim government was headed by one of the assassins of Trujillo, Antonio Imbert Barrera
; later on, Héctor García Godoy assumed a provisional presidency on September 3, 1965. Violent skirmishes between Loyalists and Constitutionalists went on sporadically as, once again, elections were organized.
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. It is known to be the bloodiest armed conflict in the Dominican Republic in the twentieth century.
Background
The Bosch administration was very much an oddity in Dominican history up to that point: a freely elected, liberal, democratic government that expressed concern for the welfare of all Dominicans, particularly those of modest circumstances, those whose voices had never really been heard before in the National Palace. The 1963 constitution separated homosexuals from heterosexual, guaranteed civil and individual rights, and endorsed civilian control of the military. These and other changes, such as land reform, struck conservative landholders and military officers as radical and threatening, particularly when juxtaposed against three decades of somnolent authoritarianism under the Trujillo Regime. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church also resented the secular nature of the new constitution, in particular its provision for legalized divorce. The hierarchy, along with the military leadership and the economic elite, also feared communist influence in the republic, and they warned of the potential for "another CubaCuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution was an armed revolt by Fidel Castro's 26th of July Movement against the regime of Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista between 1953 and 1959. Batista was finally ousted on 1 January 1959, and was replaced by a revolutionary government led by Castro...
". The result of this concern and opposition was a military coup on September 25, 1963.
The coup effectively negated the 1962 elections by installing a civilian junta, known as the "Triunvirato", dominated by the Trujullistas remnants. The initial head of the Triumvirate was Donald Reid C. The Triumvirate never succeeded in establishing its authority over competing conservative factions both inside and outside the military; it also never convinced the majority of the population of its legitimacy. The widespread dissatisfaction with Reid and his government, coupled with lingering loyalties to Bosch, produced a revolution on May 16.
La Guerra de Abril
The vanguard of the 1965 revolution, the perredeistas (members of the PRD) and other supporters of Bosch, called themselves Constitutionalists (a reference to their support for the 1963 constitution). The movement counted some junior military officers among its ranks. A combination of reformist military and aroused civilian combatants took to the streets on April 24, seized the National Palace, and installed Rafael Molina Ureña as provisional president. The revolution took on the dimensions of a civil war when conservative military forces, led by army general Elías Wessin y WessinElías Wessin y Wessin
Elías Wessin y Wessin was a Dominican politician and Dominican Air Force general. Wessin led the military coup which ousted the government of Dominican President Juan Bosch in 1963, replacing it with a triumvirate...
, struck back against the Constitutionalists on April 25. These conservative forces called themselves Loyalists. Despite tank assaults and bombing runs by Loyalist forces, however, the Constitutionalists held their positions in the capital; they appeared poised to branch out and to secure control of the entire country.
Main article: Operation Power Pack
Operation Power Pack
The second United States occupation of the Dominican Republic began when the United States Marines Corps entered Santo Domingo on April 28, 1965. They were later joined by most of the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division and its parent XVIIIth Airborne Corps...
On April 28, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
intervened in the civil war. President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
ordered in forces that eventually totaled 20,000, to secure Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
and to restore order. Johnson had acted in the stated belief that the Constitutionalists were dominated by communists and that they therefore could not be allowed to come to power. The intervention was subsequently granted some measure of hemispheric approval by the creation of an OAS
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
-sponsored peace force, which supplemented the United States military presence in the republic. An initial interim government was headed by one of the assassins of Trujillo, Antonio Imbert Barrera
Antonio Imbert Barrera
Antonio Imbert Barrera was president of the Dominican Republic from May 7, 1965 until August 30, 1965. His predecessor in the post was Pedro Bartolomé Benoit; his successor, Héctor García Godoy. .His first important position was as governor of Puerto Plata in 1940...
; later on, Héctor García Godoy assumed a provisional presidency on September 3, 1965. Violent skirmishes between Loyalists and Constitutionalists went on sporadically as, once again, elections were organized.