El Jefe

An article about improved relations between the Dominican Republic and Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating January earthquake sparked my interest in Trujillo.

Some interesting details in the life of this man:

His mother was Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier, later known as Mamá Julia, whose mother was half-Haitian.

In 1937, claiming that Haiti was harboring his former Dominican opponents, Trujillo ordered an attack on the border, slaughtering tens of thousands of Haitians as they tried to escape.

Trujillo was known for his open-door policy, accepting Jewish refugees from Europe, Japanese migration during the 1930s, and exiles from Spain following its civil war. He developed a uniquely Dominican policy of racial discrimination, Antihaitianismo ("anti-Haitianism"), targeting the mostly-black inhabitants of his neighboring country and those within the Platano Curtain, including many darker Dominican citizens.