Dominican Republic 1960
First Published: December 1960;
Source: The Luis Álvarez López Collection at the Dominican Studies Institute at the City University of New York (CUNY);
Transcribed: by Amaury Rodríguez and Nelson Santana, 2019.
Source: The Luis Álvarez López Collection at the Dominican Studies Institute at the City University of New York (CUNY);
Transcribers’ note: The efforts of organized resistance within the Dominican Republic and abroad contributed greatly to the demise of the Trujillo dictatorship (1931-1961). After receiving military training in Cuba in the early days of the Cuban Revolution, Dominican exiles grouped in the Dominican Liberation Movement (MLD for its Spanish initials), launched a guerilla expedition to overthrow the tyranny on June 14th of 1959. The anti-Trujillist guerillas disembarked in three different geographical locations of the Caribbean nation with the aim of launching an armed uprising that would overthrow the regime: Constanza, Maimón and Estero Hondo. The armed project ultimately failed due to sabotage and inclement weather. However, news of the bravery and courage of the guerillas gave impetus to a new generation of activists in the country. Known as the Frente Interno (Internal Front), this was a clandestine resistance comprised of disparate, political elements united by their hatred of Dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo. One of the leaders of that resistance was Minerva Mirabal, who alongside her husband, Manolo Tavárez Justo,[1] founded the 14th of June Movement, paying homage to those guerilla fighters who shed their blood in the name of freedom and democracy. On November 25th of 1960, the Trujillo regime murdered Minerva Mirabal and her two sisters. The murder of the Mirabal Sisters was one of the most heinous crimes carried out by the dictatorship. In fact, the murder was the catalyst that accelerated the end of the regime. As a response to this political murder, members of the exile community in New York City grouped in both the Dominican United Front and the Dominican Liberation Movement, mobilized worldwide public opinion against Trujillo and his brutal regime.
The document below circulated in the United States in the form of a flyer. Fonts and grammar have been kept intact. We thank Librarian Sarah Aponte and the CUNY Dominican Studies Institute for granting permission.
Dr. MINERVA MIRABAL
Eng. MARIA TERESA MIRABAL
PATRIA MIRABAL
Their husbands have been kept rotting in jail since last January. There is serious doubt that they are still alive. Trujillo’s dungeons are proving too small. To make room, prisoners are quietly murdered every night.
In Costa Rica the OAS agreed on sanctions against Trujillo last August. But now, after a long delay, the Organization has decided to postponed [2] indefinitely their meeting for the study of sanctions.
Will these sanctions come when all the democratic Dominicans have been killed or mutilated by this insane murderer?
STOP TRUJILLO’s CRIMINAL RAMPAGE!
You can help by demanding of the United States Government to comply with the agreements of the Conference of Costa Rica which condemned Trujillo and forced sanctions on his tyranny
| FRENTE UNIDO DOMINICANO | DOMINICAN LIBERATION MOVEMENT |
| 305 AMSTERDAM AVE. | 117 WEST 58th STREET |
NEW YORK CITY-DECEMBER 3rd, 1960
1. Manolo Tavárez Justo became a revolutionary martyr when he was later assassinated in cold blood during 1963 guerilla uprising launched to overthrow a right wing military junta. See: Dominican Junta Murders Leading Anti-Trujillo Fighter
2. This is a typo from the original document. It should read: “postpone” instead.