May 30, 1961: Rafael Trujillo is assassinated -- with the aid of the CIA -- in Ciudad Trujillo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, ending 31 years as that country’s brutal Fascist dictator. He was 69.
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina was born on October 24, 1891 in San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic. By 1924, he was the head of the national police, and in 1930, he became President following a coup and an election. He was re-elected in 1934, and stepped down in 1938 after 2 terms.
But he remained head of the army, and, like Franklin Roosevelt in America, being bound only by tradition, not law, he ran again in 1942, won, and consolidated his power so that he was even more of a dictator than before. He installed figurehead Presidents: Jacinto Peynado from 1938 until he fell ill and died in 1940, Manuel Troncoso de la Concha from then until 1942, and his brother Héctor from 1952 onward.
But, from 1930 onward, Rafael Trujillo was "El Jefe": "The Chief," or "The Boss." Detractors called him "Chapitas," meaning "Bottlecaps," because, like many dictators, he liked to wear military uniforms with a lot of medals, and boys pretended to be him by turning bottlecaps into toy medals.
During his rule, like many other dictators, he built a cult of personality around himself. Like a few others, he also built one around his family, including his wife, and putting his brothers and his sons in positions of power in the government and in the army. The Trujillo family amassed enormous wealth. El Jefe acquired cattle lands on a grand scale, and went into meat and milk production, operations that soon evolved into monopolies. Salt, sugar, tobacco, lumber, and the lottery were other industries which he or his family members dominated.
The capital of Santo Domingo was renamed Ciudad Trujillo (Trujillo City). Estimates for the number of deaths under his regime range from 25,000 to 50,000 deaths and disappearances. That's in about 30 years of rule. For comparison's sake: In about 60 years, depending on whose figures you believe, Cuba's Fidel Castro killed somewhere between 35,000 and 70,000.
The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern 63 percent of the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti holding the western 37 percent. While both countries are mostly Catholic, Haiti also has a large population of Africa religions. And while the Dominican was once part of Spain's empire and speaks Spanish, Haiti once belonged to France and speaks French. So there is a rivalry.
In 1937, 17,000 to 35,000 Haitians were killed by the Dominican Army under Trujillo's orders, in what became known as the Parsley Massacre. It continues to affect relations between the countries today.
Unlike most Dominicans, and unlike later Cuban dictator Fidel Castro, Trujillo didn't like baseball. Like many dictators, however, he understood how to manipulate sports for his own purposes. He invited many black American and Caribbean players, denied contracts to North American professional leagues, to play professionally in his country, for good pay and without segregation.
Satchel Paige was one, signed to El Jefe's team, the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo. Paige remembered a 1937 game in which he saw soldiers with rifles around the field, an "encouragement" to pitch well. Fulfilling his contract with the Dragons at the end of the season, Satch left, later writing in his memoir, "I never did see Trujillo again, and I ain't sorry."
Trujillo had 2 daughters with his 1st wife, a daughter with his 2nd wife, 2 sons and a daughter with his 3rd wife, and a son and a daughter with one of his many mistresses.
On May 30, 1961, Trujillo was shot dead when his blue 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air was ambushed on a road outside the capital. But the plotters failed to gain control of the country, because each of them thought they should end up in charge, and they ended up betraying each other. This chaos was still in place in 1965, and President Lyndon Johnson sent U.S. Marines to help stabilize the country. The capital city’s name revered to what it was before, Santo Domingo.
Most of the family fled the country after the assassination. Rafael's son Ramfis briefly succeeded him as Generalissimo of the Army, but fled, and died in 1969, after a car crash in Spain. Rafael's brother Héctor Trujillo survived, and remained a power in Dominican politics, though he never became the power in it, and lived until 2002.
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May 30, 1961 was a Tuesday. It was Memorial Day: That day was commemorated on May 30 until 1968, when it was switched to the last Monday in May. It was traditionally a day for baseball teams to hold doubleheaders, and these games were played:
* Playing a single game, the New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 12-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Ralph Terry got into trouble in the 3rd inning, and Bill Stafford not only worked out of it, but pitched 4 perfect innings for the win. Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris and Bill "Moose" Skowron each hit 2 home runs, and Yogi Berra hit 1. Mickey and Roger each had 4 RBIs. Rookie Carl Yastrzemski did not play for the Red Sox.
* A doubleheader was split at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. The Milwaukee Braves won the opener, 3-1. The Philadelphia Phillies won the nightcap, 11-4. Over the 2 games, Hank Aaron went 3-for-8 with 2 RBIs.
* Playing a single game, the Washington Senators beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-1 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
* The Chicago Cubs swept the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-3 and 10-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Don Cardwell pitched a 7-hit shutout in the nightcap. Over the 2 games, Ernie Banks went 4-for-8 with an RBI, and Roberto Clemente went 1-for-8 with a walk.
* The Cleveland Indians swept the Minnesota Twins, 4-3 and7-5 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Over the 2 games, Harmon Killebrew went 1-for-5 with 3 walks.
* The Baltimore Orioles swept the Chicago White Sox, 6-0 and 2-1 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Steve Barber pitched a 3-hit shutout in the 1st game. Over the 2 games, Brooks Robinson went 2-for-8.
* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers beat the Kansas City Athletics in the 1st game, 5-3. Norm Cash hit a grand slam. For the A's, Leo Posada (no relation to Jorge) went 4-for-5 with an RBI. The A's won the 2nd game, 9-3. Posada had another RBI, and Norm Siebern went 3-for-4 with 2 home runs, a walk, and 5 RBIs. Over the 2 games, Al Kaline went 3-for-9 with an RBI.
* Playing a single game, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Stan Williams outpitched Bob Gibson. Gil Hodges hit a home run. Stan Musial went 0-for-4.
* And the Cincinnati Reds swept the San Francisco Giants, 7-6 and 6-4 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco. Willie Mays hit a pinch-hit home run in the 1st game, then went 1-for-5 in the 2nd game. Over the 2 games, Frank Robinson went 0-for-4 with a walk, and was substituted for a pinch-hitter in both games.
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