Rebellion of the Pilots: Difference between revisions
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The '''Rebellion of the Pilots''' was a military uprising carried out by six members of the Dominican Military Aviation |
The '''Rebellion of the Pilots''' was a military uprising carried out by six members of the Dominican Military Aviation (today the [[Dominican Air Force]]) on November 19, 1961, that put a definitive end to the rule of 31 years of the [[Rafael Trujillo|Trujillo dictatorship]] by forcing the exile of the Trujillo family from the country.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Conmemoran salida familia Trujillo del pais|url=http://diarioalinstante.com/conmemoran-salida-familia-trujillo-del-pais/2016/11/20/|date=20 November 2016|publisher=Diario al Instante}}</ref> It prevented [[Ramfis Trujillo]], José Arismendy Trujillo and [[Héctor Trujillo|Héctor Bienvenido Trujillo Molina]] from returning to power and restoring the regime led by their brother [[Rafael Trujillo]]. |
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The timely rebellion |
The timely rebellion marked the end of one of the bloodiest dictatorships of the twentieth century and the beginning of democracy in the Dominican Republic, preventing the elimination of the political class that opposed the Trujillo regime.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://paraquenoserepitalahistoria.blogspot.se/2013/11/hace-52-anos-la-rebelion-de-los-pilotos.html|title=Hace 52 años: la rebelión de los pilotos|author=Federico Marcos Didiez}}</ref> |
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== Background == |
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The 31-year dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo ended on the night of May 30, 1961, [[:es:Juan Tomás Díaz|Juan Tomás Díaz]], his brother Modesto Díaz, [[Antonio de la Maza]], [[Antonio Imbert Barrera]], Salvador Estrella Sadhalá, [[Amado García Guerrero]], Huáscar Tejeda, Pedro Livio Cedeño, Luis Amiama Tio, Luis Manuel Cáceres Michel and Roberto Pastoriza Neret assassinated him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museodelaresistencia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=329:heroes-del-30-de-mayo-resenas-biograficas&catid=40:1961-1964&Itemid=135|title=Heroes del 30 de Mayo. Resenas Biograficas|author=Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana|language=Spanish|accessdate=16 August 2012}}</ref> |
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[[File:Monumento livertad dictatura Totaal.JPG|thumb|"Memorial to the Heroes of the 30th of May", a 1993 sculpture by Silvano Lora along [[Autopista 30 de Mayo]] where Trujillo was shot]] |
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On May 30, [[1961]], [[Rafael Trujillo]] was shot and killed when his blue 1957 [[Chevrolet Bel Air]] was ambushed on a road outside the Dominican capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/trujillo.html |title=Moreorless: Heroes & Killers of the 20th century |last=Harris |first=Bruce |accessdate=12 November 2011 |archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/638oxTW2j?url=http://www.moreorless.au.com/killers/trujillo.html |archivedate=12 November 2011 |deadurl=yes |df= }}</ref> He was the victim of an ambush plotted by a number of men, among them General Juan Tomás Díaz, Pedro Livio Cedeño, [[Antonio de la Maza]], [[Amado García Guerrero]] and General [[Antonio Imbert Barrera]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.museodelaresistencia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=329:heroes-del-30-de-mayo-resenas-biograficas&catid=40:1961-1964&Itemid=135|author=Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana |title=Heroes del 30 de Mayo. Resenas Biograficas |language=Spanish |accessdate=16 August 2012}}</ref> The plotters, however, failed to take control as General José Román betrayed his co-conspirators by his inactivity, and contingency plans had not been made.<ref>{{harvp|Diederich|1978|pp=150f}}</ref> On the other side, Johnny Abbes, Roberto Figueroa Carrión, and the Trujillo family put the [[Servicio de Inteligencia Militar|Military Intelligence Service (SIM)]] to work to hunt the members of the plot, and brought back [[Ramfis Trujillo]] from [[Paris]] to step into his father's shoes. The response by SIM was swift and brutal. Hundreds of suspects were detained and many were tortured. On November 18 the last executions took place when six of the conspirators were executed in the Hacienda María Massacre.<ref>{{harvp|Diederich|1978|pp=235ff}}</ref> Imbert was the only one of the seven assassins who escaped the manhunt.<ref name=imbert>{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-13560512| author=BBC |title='I shot the cruellest dictator in the Americas'| date=27 May 2011 |accessdate=16 August 2012}}</ref> A co-conspirator named Luis Amiama Tio also survived.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} |
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With Trujillo's killing began the unravelling of his regime. However, the machinery that supported the dictatorship remained almost intact, so democracy took time to build. The next 5 months and 19 days saw an escalation of the regime's repression |
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=== Ramfis Trujillo in power === |
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[[Rafael Trujillo|Rafael Trujillo's]] son, [[Ramfis Trujillo]], inherited power with [[Joaquín Balaguer]], the titular [[president of the Dominican Republic|president]] of the [[Dominican Republic]], as his puppet. The two initially took steps to liberalize the regime, granting some civil liberties and easing censorship of the press{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}. Meanwhile, Balaguer revoked the nonaggression pact made with [[Cuba]] in January. These measures did not go nearly far enough for a populace who had no memory of the instability and poverty that preceded Rafael Trujillo, and wanted more freedom and a more equitable distribution of wealth.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} At the same time, the younger Trujillo's reforms went too far for the hard-line ''trujillistas'' led by his own uncles, [[Héctor Trujillo]] and José Arismendy Trujillo. As the [[Organization of American States|Organization of American States (OAS)]] maintained economic sanctions imposed following Rafael Trujillo's attempted murder of [[Republic of Venezuela|Venezuelan]] President [[Romulo Betancourt]], Ramfis Trujillo warned that the country could descend into civil war between left and right.{{citation needed|date=July 2015}} |
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Of the group responsible for Trujillo's assassination only General Imbert Barrera and Luis Amiama Tio survived; the other nine were killed by Ramfis Trujillo, the son of Trujillo, and the remnants of the regime. On November 18, 1961, Ramfis Trujillo murdered six of those men in the Hacienda María Massacre in San Cristobal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Diederich |first=Bernard |date=1978 |title=Trujillo, The Death of the Goat |publisher=Little, Brown, and Co. |isbn=978-0316184403 |pages=235ff}}</ref> |
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Although official and unofficial repression of the opposition parties (the [[Dominican Revolutionary Party]] and National Civic Union, as well as the [[communism|communist]] Dominican Popular Movement) continued, Balaguer publicly condemned this repression and in September he pledged to form a coalition government. Héctor and José Arismendy Trujillo left the country in October but the opposition parties demanded that Ramfis Trujillo withdraw from the government as well. At the end of October, Ramfis Trujillo announced that he would resign if the OAS agreed to lift the economic sanctions. The OAS agreed on November 14 but Ramfis Trujillo's uncles returned to the country the following day, hoping to lead a military coup. Ramfis Trujillo resigned and went into exile on November 17 and rumours circulated that Military Aviation [[general officer|general]] Fernando Arturo Sánchez Otero would support revolutionaries aligned with Cuban leader [[Fidel Castro]]. The [[United States]] now sent a small fleet of ships and 1,800 [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] to patrol Dominican waters. The American [[consul (representative)|consul]] informed Balaguer that these forces stood ready to intervene at his request, and would be supported by forces from Venezuela and [[Colombia]]. |
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On the night of November 19, José Arismendy Trujillo, Tunti Sánchez, the head of Military Aviation, and the regional chiefs of the [[Servicio de Inteligencia Militar|SIM]] met at the [[San Isidro Air Base]]. There they organized a plot, alternatively called Operation Green Light or the Slaughter of San Bartolomé, to assassinate the leaders of the National Civic Union (including [[Viriato Fiallo]]) and the [[14th of June Movement]] as well as national leaders such as Balaguer.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lajara Sola|first=Homero Luis|title=Los Pilotos de la Patria|url=http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2016/11/19/443780/los-pilotos-de-la-patria|date=19 november 2016|work=Listin Diario|página=}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | The Rebellion of the Pilots took place on the morning of November 19, 1961. The artillery and the tank squadrons of the [[San Isidro Air Base]] were bombed, as well as other military installations that remained loyal to Trujillo such as the Mao and Puerto Plata fortresses. These attacks succeeded in disabling the military forces that supported the Trujillos and achieved the definitive exit from the country of the Trujillo remnants.<ref name="Miguel Guerrero_1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://acento.com.do/2014/politica/8195253-los-ultimos-dias-de-trujillo-iii-un-ataque-con-bombas-y-cohetes/|title=Los últimos días de Trujillo III: Un ataque con bombas y cohetes|author=Miguel Guerrero}}</ref> |
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This act prevented Petán, Negro and Ramfis Trujillo from executing a plot to depose [[Joaquín Balaguer]] from the Presidency of the Republic and assassinate the main leaders of the {{ill|National Civic Union (Dominican Republic)|lt=National Civic Union|es|Unión Cívica Nacional (República Dominicana)}} and the [[14th of June Movement]]. On the night of November 18 Petán Trujillo, the Air Force chief, had met at the San Isidro Air Base with Tunti Sánchez, and the regional chiefs of the dreaded [[Servicio de Inteligencia Militar|Military Intelligence Service (SIM)]], including Alicinio Peña Rivera, who would kill the politicians and antitrujillistas of the Cibao region. This plan was called Operation Green Light or the Massacre of San Bartolomé whose objective was serial murders of leaders like [[Viriato Fiallo]] and Balaguer, among others.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lajara Sola|first=Homero Luis|url=http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2016/11/19/443780/los-pilotos-de-la-patria|title=Los Pilotos de la Patria|date=19 November 2016|work=Listin Diario}}</ref> |
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{{Gallery |
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|File:Duran Guzman.jpg|Lt. Col. Durán Guzmán |
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|File:Polanco Alegría.jpg|Lt. Col. Polanco Alegría |
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|File:General Rodríguez Echavarría.jpg|Brig. Gen. Rodríguez Echavarría |
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}} |
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The Rebellion of the Pilots was devised and executed by Lieutenant Colonels Manuel Durán Guzmán, ideologue of the plot, Raymundo Polanco Alegría, commander of the Ramfis Hunting Squadron, and Nelton González Pomares. It was led by General Pedro Rodríguez Echavarria, at that time commander of the Santiago air base and the superior officers Pedro Santiago Rodríguez Echavarría and Federico Fernández Smester. |
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| ⚫ | '''Manuel Durán Guzmán''' was born on September 28, |
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| ⚫ | '''Raymundo Polanco Alegría''' was Durán Guzmán's first contact. |
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| ⚫ | '''Manuel Durán Guzmán''' was born on September 28, 1924, in [[Villa Riva]]. He studied at the Padre Fantino [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] seminary in Santo Cerro as a young man, then ventured into a military career in 1945. He was the ideological leader and originator of the conspiracy. His plan was to carry it out in the months following [[Rafael Trujillo|Rafael Trujillo's]] death but he could not do so due to the high risk in those early days of being denounced and arrested.<ref name="Miguel Guerrero_1">{{Cite web|url=http://acento.com.do/2014/politica/8195248-los-ultimos-dias-de-trujillo-ii-la-conspiracion-de-los-coroneles/|title=Los últimos días de Trujillo II: La conspiracion de los coroneles|author=Miguel Guerrero}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | '''Raymundo Polanco Alegría''' was Durán Guzmán's first contact. A member of Durán Guzmán's graduating class in 1948, Polanco-Alegría, of [[Almería|Almerian]] descent, was commander of the Ramfis Hunt Squadron and had under his command sixty aircraft of all types during the golden age of the Dominican Military Aviation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hibrain Sosa|first=Naya Despradel|title=El Complot de los Pilotos- 19 de Noviembre 1961|url=https://issuu.com/elcaribe/docs/dn_20121208|date=8 December 2012|work=El Caribe. Seccion Fin de Semana|pages=6–7}}</ref> He was one of the great aces of the Dominican Military Aviation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rivas|first=Ubi|title=Relata Brevario Avatares de Vida|url=http://elnacional.com.do/relata-brevario-avatares-de-vida/|date=19 March 2016|work=El Nacional}}</ref> After the November 19 plot, he retired from military aviation and was designated as a [[military attaché]] in Europe. |
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| ⚫ | '''Nelton González Pomares''' was another of Durán Guzmán's first contacts. He was the commander of the Hunting and Bombing Group. After the uprising, he was appointed as a military attache to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] and later was Director of [[Dominicana de Aviación|Dominicana de Aviacion]]. |
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| ⚫ | '''Pedro Rafael Rodríguez Echavarría''', [[brigadier general]] and commander of the Santiago Air Base, was convinced by Durán Guzmán to lead the plot due to the quality of his leadership, his prestige and his good relationships with other political and military leaders. He supported Balaguer in the creation of the first State Council. It is said that at the request of President John F. Kennedy, he was appointed on November 22 Secretary of State of the Armed Forces and his brother Pedro Santiago Rodríguez Echavarría as Chief of Staff of the Dominican Air Force. |
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=== The uprising === |
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{{expand section|date=January 2019}} |
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| ⚫ | The |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{reflist|2}} |
{{reflist|2}} |
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[[Category:National liberation movements]] |
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[[Category:Military history of the Dominican Republic]] |
[[Category:Military history of the Dominican Republic]] |
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[[Category:November 1961 events in North America]] |
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[[Category:Conflicts in 1961]] |
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Latest revision as of 16:34, 29 September 2023
The Rebellion of the Pilots was a military uprising carried out by six members of the Dominican Military Aviation (today the Dominican Air Force) on November 19, 1961, that put a definitive end to the rule of 31 years of the Trujillo dictatorship by forcing the exile of the Trujillo family from the country.[1] It prevented Ramfis Trujillo, José Arismendy Trujillo and Héctor Bienvenido Trujillo Molina from returning to power and restoring the regime led by their brother Rafael Trujillo.
The timely rebellion marked the end of one of the bloodiest dictatorships of the twentieth century and the beginning of democracy in the Dominican Republic, preventing the elimination of the political class that opposed the Trujillo regime.[2]
Assassination of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo
[edit]The 31-year dictatorship of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo ended on the night of May 30, 1961, Juan Tomás Díaz, his brother Modesto Díaz, Antonio de la Maza, Antonio Imbert Barrera, Salvador Estrella Sadhalá, Amado García Guerrero, Huáscar Tejeda, Pedro Livio Cedeño, Luis Amiama Tio, Luis Manuel Cáceres Michel and Roberto Pastoriza Neret assassinated him.[3]
With Trujillo's killing began the unravelling of his regime. However, the machinery that supported the dictatorship remained almost intact, so democracy took time to build. The next 5 months and 19 days saw an escalation of the regime's repression
Of the group responsible for Trujillo's assassination only General Imbert Barrera and Luis Amiama Tio survived; the other nine were killed by Ramfis Trujillo, the son of Trujillo, and the remnants of the regime. On November 18, 1961, Ramfis Trujillo murdered six of those men in the Hacienda María Massacre in San Cristobal.[4]
The Rebellion of the Pilots- November 19th, 1961
[edit]The Rebellion of the Pilots took place on the morning of November 19, 1961. The artillery and the tank squadrons of the San Isidro Air Base were bombed, as well as other military installations that remained loyal to Trujillo such as the Mao and Puerto Plata fortresses. These attacks succeeded in disabling the military forces that supported the Trujillos and achieved the definitive exit from the country of the Trujillo remnants.[5][6]
This act prevented Petán, Negro and Ramfis Trujillo from executing a plot to depose Joaquín Balaguer from the Presidency of the Republic and assassinate the main leaders of the National Civic Union and the 14th of June Movement. On the night of November 18 Petán Trujillo, the Air Force chief, had met at the San Isidro Air Base with Tunti Sánchez, and the regional chiefs of the dreaded Military Intelligence Service (SIM), including Alicinio Peña Rivera, who would kill the politicians and antitrujillistas of the Cibao region. This plan was called Operation Green Light or the Massacre of San Bartolomé whose objective was serial murders of leaders like Viriato Fiallo and Balaguer, among others.[7]
The Rebellion of the Pilots was devised and executed by Lieutenant Colonels Manuel Durán Guzmán, ideologue of the plot, Raymundo Polanco Alegría, commander of the Ramfis Hunting Squadron, and Nelton González Pomares. It was led by General Pedro Rodríguez Echavarria, at that time commander of the Santiago air base and the superior officers Pedro Santiago Rodríguez Echavarría and Federico Fernández Smester.
Members of the plot
[edit]Manuel Durán Guzmán was born on September 28, 1924, in Villa Riva. He studied at the Padre Fantino Jesuit seminary in Santo Cerro as a young man, then ventured into a military career in 1945. He was the ideological leader and originator of the conspiracy. His plan was to carry it out in the months following Rafael Trujillo's death but he could not do so due to the high risk in those early days of being denounced and arrested.[5]
Raymundo Polanco Alegría was Durán Guzmán's first contact. A member of Durán Guzmán's graduating class in 1948, Polanco-Alegría, of Almerian descent, was commander of the Ramfis Hunt Squadron and had under his command sixty aircraft of all types during the golden age of the Dominican Military Aviation.[8] He was one of the great aces of the Dominican Military Aviation.[9] After the November 19 plot, he retired from military aviation and was designated as a military attaché in Europe.
Nelton González Pomares was another of Durán Guzmán's first contacts. He was the commander of the Hunting and Bombing Group. After the uprising, he was appointed as a military attache to Washington and later was Director of Dominicana de Aviacion.
Pedro Rafael Rodríguez Echavarría, brigadier general and commander of the Santiago Air Base, was convinced by Durán Guzmán to lead the plot due to the quality of his leadership, his prestige and his good relationships with other political and military leaders. He supported Balaguer in the creation of the first State Council. It is said that at the request of President John F. Kennedy, he was appointed on November 22 Secretary of State of the Armed Forces and his brother Pedro Santiago Rodríguez Echavarría as Chief of Staff of the Dominican Air Force.
References
[edit]- ^ "Conmemoran salida familia Trujillo del pais". Diario al Instante. 20 November 2016.
- ^ Federico Marcos Didiez. "Hace 52 años: la rebelión de los pilotos".
- ^ Museo Memorial de la Resistencia Dominicana. "Heroes del 30 de Mayo. Resenas Biograficas" (in Spanish). Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ Diederich, Bernard (1978). Trujillo, The Death of the Goat. Little, Brown, and Co. pp. 235ff. ISBN 978-0316184403.
- ^ a b Miguel Guerrero. "Los últimos días de Trujillo II: La conspiracion de los coroneles".
- ^ Miguel Guerrero. "Los últimos días de Trujillo III: Un ataque con bombas y cohetes".
- ^ Lajara Sola, Homero Luis (19 November 2016). "Los Pilotos de la Patria". Listin Diario.
- ^ Hibrain Sosa, Naya Despradel (8 December 2012). "El Complot de los Pilotos- 19 de Noviembre 1961". El Caribe. Seccion Fin de Semana. pp. 6–7.
- ^ Rivas, Ubi (19 March 2016). "Relata Brevario Avatares de Vida". El Nacional.