Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina was a Dominican politician, soldier, and authoritarian ruler. His nickname was “El Jefe,” meaning “The Chief” or “The Boss” in Spanish. He held power in the Dominican Republic from February 1930 until May 1961, when he was assassinated. Trujillo first became president in 1930 and again in 1942; however, even when not officially in office, he maintained supreme authority over the state. The Trujillo Era is considered one of the darkest periods in Dominican history, marked by rampant bloodshed, brutality, and disregard for fundamental human rights.

His government orchestrated the mass murder of nearly 20,000 Haitians in what is known as the Parsley Massacre. Trujillo was also involved in various assassination attempts and other crimes that soon made him notorious beyond the Dominican Republic’s borders. His involvement extended to the attempted assassination of Venezuelan President Rómulo Betancourt in 1960, the kidnapping and disappearance of Jesús Galíndez in 1956, and the murder of writer José Almoina. His regime influenced the political climate in the Hispanic Caribbean, which saw the rise and fall of dictatorships in neighboring countries, such as Cuba, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Venezuela, and Haiti.