destine anti-Castro campaign by the U.S.
government.
Although the explosives were
removed from the British ship before
detonation, Bosch was not deterred. In
September 1968 he led an attack on a
Polish vessel in Miami, for which he and
eight others were arrested and convicted.
At the same time, he was also convicted
with extortion and conspiracy to damage
ships of foreign registry for threatening
the three heads of state. In 1972, he was
released on parole, at which time he fled
the United States for South America.
In the aftermath of Bosch’s depar-
ture, other groups such as Omega 7, the
(José) Martí Insurrectional Movement,
and the Cuban Nationalist Movement
continued to use violence to press for
Castro’s overthrow, with sporadic
attacks against Cuban government
facilities and individuals and against
companies suspected of sympathizing
with Castro occuring well into the 1980s
in New York City, Miami, and
Washington, D.C.
Upheaval in the
Dominican RepublicOn the Caribbean island of Hispaniola,
Cuba’s neighbor to the east, a different but
similarly turbulent chain of events tran-
spired in the 1960s. Soon after the U.S.
occupation of the Dominican Republic in
1916–1924 ended, U.S.-trained Domini-
can military officer Rafael Trujillo
(1891–1961) established a dictatorship
that he maintained for 31 years, from
1930 to 1961. Like Batista in Cuba,
Trujillo used his control of the army and
his alliance with both the domestic
wealthy class and U.S. interests to retain
his grip on power even when someone
else served as nominal president. Trujillo
developed the country’s industrial base
and repaid national debts, but corruption
was rampant, political dissent was brutal-
ly suppressed, and the majority of
Dominicans remained poor. His allies at
home and abroad gradually became dis-
gusted with his personal avarice, which
left precious little for them to share. The
Organization of American States imposed
economic sanctions against him in 1960
for his involvement in a presidential assas-
sination attempt in Venezuela. Trujillo’s
rule ended in 1961 with his own assassina-
tion by machine-gun fire, reportedly
assisted by the CIA.
After the assassination, family mem-
bers and cronies of Trujillo continued to
dominate the government until 1962,
when domestic agitation and internation-
al pressure forced President JoaquínLA RAZA UNIDA 1831905 The United States takes control of part of the Dominican Republic in order to pro-
tect American business interests.
1916–1924Following a period of prolonged turmoil and growing Dominican debt to
American corporations, the U.S. Marine Corps invades the Dominican Republic. The
United States occupies the island until 1924.
1930 U.S.-backed dictator Rafael Trujillo comes to power.
1961 Trujillo is assassinated. Following his death, the administration of U.S. president
John F. Kennedy forces his family from Dominican politics with a threat of armed inter-
vention.
1962 Juan Bosch, a reform-minded populist of the Partido Revolucionario Dominicano
(PRD), wins the first free presidential election in 40 years.
1963 Bosch is ousted in a military coup and is replaced by a triumvirate.
1965 An armed revolt against the military government escalates into civil war. In the
wake of Cuba’s 1959 communist revolution, the U.S. government fears a similar result
and once more sends in 24,000 marines to restore order.
1966–1978 Joaquín Balaguer, a conservative politician of the Partida de la Liberacion
Dominicana (PLD), is elected president, an office he holds for eight years.
1986–1996 Balaguer regains the office and is reelected twice more in 1990 and 1994.
In 1996 he steps down due to charges of election fraud. Leonel Fernández of the PLD
wins the presidential election.
1998 Democratic elections for the National Assembly give a large majority to the oppo-
sition PRD party.
2000 Hipólito Mejía of the PRD is elected president.THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
IN THE 20TH CENTURY
President John F. Kennedy addresses the nation during the Cuban missile crisis.
(Library of Congress)