Rafael Trujillo, Dominican Republic Ruler, Ordered The Army To Kill All Haitians On The Dominican Side Of The Border.
The Dominican Republic was ruled by dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (who was himself 1/4 Haitian) from 1930 until his assassination in 1961. Trujillo ruled with iron hand persecuting anyone who opposed his regime. He also renamed many towns and provinces after himself and his family, including the capital city Santo Domingo.
In 1937 Rafael Trujillo, in an event known as the Parsley Massacre ordered the Army to kill all Haitians on the Dominican side of the border; an estimated 17,000 to 35,000 Haitians were killed for approximately five days, from October 2, 1937 through October 8, 1937,
Trujillo ordered the massacre of Haitians living in the Dominican Republic in retaliation for the discovery and execution by the Haitian government of his most valued covert agents in that country. The Dominican army slaughtered largely unarmed men, women, and children, mostly in border areas, but also in the western Cibao. Haitians were cut down with machetes.
News of the atrocity filtered out of the country slowly; when it reached the previously supportive administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States, Secretary of State Cordell Hull demanded internationally mediated negotiations for a settlement and indemnity. Trujillo finally agreed. The negotiations, however, fixed a ludicrously low indemnity of US$750,000, which was later reduced to US$525,000 by agreement between the two governments. Although the affair damaged Trujillo's international image, it did not result in any direct efforts by the United States or by other countries to force him from power.
The Dominican government headed by Trujillo for a time was supported by the USA, the Catholic Church and the Dominican elite; even after the death of Dominicans opposition and over 17,000 Haitians.
