1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,960 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday. Today is the International Day for the Elimination 2 00:00:06,080 --> 00:00:09,240 Speaker 1: of Violence against Women, and the date for this was 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: selected to recognize the mirror Ball Sisters who were murdered 4 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: at the order of Raphael Trauhio in nineteen sixty. So 5 00:00:16,560 --> 00:00:19,279 Speaker 1: we are sharing our episode on the mirra Ball Sisters 6 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: as Today's Saturday Classic. This episode originally came out on 7 00:00:23,680 --> 00:00:29,840 Speaker 1: November twenty first, twenty eighteen. Welcome to Stuff You Missed 8 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome 9 00:00:40,120 --> 00:00:40,880 Speaker 1: to the podcast. 10 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:43,720 Speaker 2: I'm Tracy V. Wilson and I'm Holly Frye. 11 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,600 Speaker 1: Today we're going to talk about the Miraball Sisters, who 12 00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:52,000 Speaker 1: are a really frequent listener request, including from Magdalena, Chanelle, 13 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,640 Speaker 1: Sophia or maybe Sofia depending on where she's from, a 14 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:59,720 Speaker 1: different Tracy who is not me, Jennifer, and Jamie. These 15 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,960 Speaker 1: sisters fought against the brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo, who was 16 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:07,479 Speaker 1: nicknamed El Hefe or the Chief in the Dominican Republic. 17 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:12,240 Speaker 1: There were actually four Mirabal sisters. They were Minerva Patria, 18 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:16,920 Speaker 1: Maria Theresa, and Dite. Minerva Patria and Maria Teresa were 19 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:21,080 Speaker 1: the most heavily involved in this fight against Trujillo. Deta 20 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,959 Speaker 1: carried on their legacy after they were murdered. Today, the 21 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:28,240 Speaker 1: sisters are national heroes in the Dominican Republic, but they 22 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:32,039 Speaker 1: were not really well known elsewhere until starting about twenty 23 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: or so years ago. They became the subject of the 24 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:38,080 Speaker 1: historical novel In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez. 25 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 1: Her family was involved in the same struggle against Trujillo, 26 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: and they fled the Dominican Republic shortly before the sisters 27 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:48,520 Speaker 1: were assassinated. That book also was made into a movie 28 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:51,800 Speaker 1: starring Salma Hayek in two thousand and one. Today we 29 00:01:51,880 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: are going to set the stage for all this with 30 00:01:54,000 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: a quick look at the colonial history of the Dominican 31 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: Republic and its neighbor Haiti, and that will help put 32 00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 1: Raphaeltrechillo's rise to power in context. And then it will 33 00:02:04,280 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: also help us get a sense of exactly what it 34 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:09,920 Speaker 1: was that these sisters were fighting against. And I also 35 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: want to note that this episode includes a lot of violence, 36 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:17,640 Speaker 1: particularly violence against women and including sexual violence. So for background, 37 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 1: Hispaniola is one island that is home to two nations, 38 00:02:21,280 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic in the east and Haiti in the west, 39 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: and the northern part of the border between these two 40 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:30,080 Speaker 1: nations is the Dahabone River that has also been called 41 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: historically the Massacre River. It initially had that name after 42 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:37,080 Speaker 1: a massacre was committed there in seventeen twenty eight, although 43 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: today it is also associated with a later massacre that 44 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:42,560 Speaker 1: we were going to talk about shortly. Like a lot 45 00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: of other islands in the Caribbean, in the fifteenth century, 46 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:50,200 Speaker 1: Hispaniola was inhabited by the indigenous Tino people. Christopher Columbus 47 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:53,880 Speaker 1: landed on Hispaniola during his first voyage in fourteen ninety two, 48 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: and Spain was the first European nation to establish a 49 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 1: colony there. Spain later seated the way eastern side of 50 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:03,160 Speaker 1: the island to France, and then the French side of 51 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,600 Speaker 1: the island became independent after the Haitian Revolution, which ended 52 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:10,080 Speaker 1: in eighteen oh four, and the newly established nation of 53 00:03:10,120 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 1: Haiti later annexed the eastern side of the island, which 54 00:03:13,520 --> 00:03:16,880 Speaker 1: was unified from eighteen twenty two to eighteen forty four, 55 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:20,799 Speaker 1: and what's now the Dominican Republic first declared its independence 56 00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: from Haiti in eighteen forty four, and then it became 57 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: independent from Spain in eighteen sixty five. At about the 58 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: same time that the Dominican Republic became independent from Spain, 59 00:03:32,360 --> 00:03:35,960 Speaker 1: the United States started to express some interest in controlling 60 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: the whole island, in part because of its strategic location 61 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:44,119 Speaker 1: in the Caribbean, and after various involvements with both nations, 62 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:47,680 Speaker 1: that finally started to happen after World War One, first 63 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: with Haiti and then with the Dominican Republic. The US 64 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:55,560 Speaker 1: occupation of Haiti began after the assassination of Haitian President 65 00:03:55,960 --> 00:03:59,960 Speaker 1: Jean Vilbrun Guillaume Sam on July twenty eighth of nineteen fifteen. 66 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: The United States had already been concerned about the nation's 67 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: overall stability, and after the assassination, the US took control, 68 00:04:08,600 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 1: ostensibly to keep Haiti from descending into anarchy. Then, the 69 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: Haitian American Treaty of nineteen fifteen formalized American control over 70 00:04:17,800 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: various aspects of the Haitian government and economy. The United 71 00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: States occupied the Dominican Republic in nineteen sixteen, and a 72 00:04:25,279 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: lot of the justification for this was really similar. The 73 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:31,480 Speaker 1: United States was concerned about the increasing presence of German 74 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:35,119 Speaker 1: businesses in the Dominican Republic, as had been the case 75 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: in Haiti. American troops were deployed to the Dominican Republic 76 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,679 Speaker 1: before that point, including seven hundred and fifty Marines deployed 77 00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:46,960 Speaker 1: after the nineteen twelve assassination of Dominican President Ramon Ceseris. 78 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,600 Speaker 2: These two occupations had a lot of similarities. Both were 79 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:57,360 Speaker 2: ostensibly motivated by concerns over instability, including presidential assassinations and 80 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:02,080 Speaker 2: increasing German influence in each name. Both of them followed 81 00:05:02,160 --> 00:05:06,000 Speaker 2: years of American involvement in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, 82 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 2: including troop deployments, and both occupations were marked by racism, violence, 83 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:15,880 Speaker 2: and ongoing unrest and uprisings. At the same time. 84 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: In the case of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, 85 00:05:18,760 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: the United States took the opportunity to try to make 86 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,800 Speaker 1: these nations friendlier and more accommodating to the American government 87 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,560 Speaker 1: and to United States business interests. This included manipulating elections 88 00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 1: to favor candidates that the United States approved of and 89 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: putting pressure on both governments to pass laws that would 90 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,039 Speaker 1: benefit US interests. The United States began withdrawing from the 91 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 1: Dominican Republic in nineteen twenty four and from Haiti in 92 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:47,400 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty nine. Then in the nineteen thirties, President Franklin 93 00:05:47,440 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 1: Delano Roosevelt announced his Good Neighbor Policy, which at least 94 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 1: in theory, stressed non intervention in other nations affairs In 95 00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,520 Speaker 1: Latin America, the US didn't physically occupy the Dominican Republic 96 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,320 Speaker 1: or Hateia after this point, but it did continue to 97 00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:07,280 Speaker 1: try to influence both nations through things like military assistants 98 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:11,560 Speaker 1: and loans. We have really really barely scratched the surface 99 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,719 Speaker 1: of these occupations. We're just setting the stage for what 100 00:06:14,880 --> 00:06:18,920 Speaker 1: happened next, which is that Horacio Vasquez was elected president 101 00:06:19,000 --> 00:06:22,359 Speaker 1: of the Dominican Republic in nineteen twenty four. That was 102 00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: in an election that had been supervised by the United States, 103 00:06:25,880 --> 00:06:28,640 Speaker 1: But in nineteen thirty he was overthrown in a coup. 104 00:06:29,160 --> 00:06:33,359 Speaker 1: During this coup, General Raphael Leonidas Trujillo Molina kept the 105 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:37,000 Speaker 1: Dominican Army from becoming involved rather than defending the government. 106 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,480 Speaker 1: Once the coup was successful, O Trujillo ran for president, 107 00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: but also established a police force to assassinate his rivals 108 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 1: and their supporters, so with nominal interruptions, Trichello had total 109 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: control over the Dominican Republic for the next thirty one years, 110 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: starting in nineteen thirty and he was a product of 111 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: the American occupation of the Dominican Republic. He had been 112 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:02,039 Speaker 1: trained by the US Marines. He had been part of 113 00:07:02,080 --> 00:07:04,800 Speaker 1: the Constabulary Guard, which was a police force that the 114 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:08,880 Speaker 1: Marines had established. An incident in nineteen thirty seven really 115 00:07:08,960 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: illustrates what Trujillo was like as a dictator because they 116 00:07:12,240 --> 00:07:15,760 Speaker 1: had been colonized by two different nations. The Dominican Republic 117 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: and Haiti had totally different languages, cultures, and priorities. Often 118 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,280 Speaker 1: the relationship between the two nations had been somewhere on 119 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: a spectrum between tents and violent, but when Trujillo became 120 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,120 Speaker 1: president in nineteen thirty the two countries had a mostly 121 00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: cordial relationship. 122 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:37,160 Speaker 2: The border region between the two was in many ways bicultural, 123 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:41,200 Speaker 2: with many people living there speaking some combination of French, 124 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:46,560 Speaker 2: Spanish and Haitian Creole. Trhio found this bicultural border region 125 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 2: to be a really unacceptable threat. It was a threat 126 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,360 Speaker 2: to his regime. It was a threat to the Dominican 127 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,240 Speaker 2: Republic as a whole. He also thought the fact that 128 00:07:54,360 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 2: parts of it were really remote and not well defined 129 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:00,640 Speaker 2: would offer a way for rebels and insurgents to escape 130 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,720 Speaker 2: from the Dominican Republic into Haiti, and some of this 131 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 2: was also connected to race. In general, the population of 132 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 2: Haiti had a higher proportion of African ancestry and darker 133 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:15,560 Speaker 2: skin than the population of the Dominican Republic, so Trujillo 134 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 2: really wanted the border region to look more like the 135 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 2: eastern part of the nation in terms of culture, economy, 136 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,040 Speaker 2: and race. Trujillo toured the border region between the two 137 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 2: nations in August and September of nineteen thirty seven to 138 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:33,440 Speaker 2: inspect a highway that was being built, and after that 139 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 2: he decided that the Haitian presence at the border was 140 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 2: an urgent problem that needed to be dealt with. On 141 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 2: October second, nineteen thirty seven, he ordered the killing of 142 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:46,760 Speaker 2: about three hundred Haitians at the border, describing it as 143 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 2: a solution to purported thefts and infractions committed by Haitians. 144 00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:55,720 Speaker 2: It was a solution he promised would continue. This led 145 00:08:55,760 --> 00:08:59,319 Speaker 2: to a tremendous massacre in which as many as twenty 146 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 2: thousand people were killed, most of them Haitians or Dominicans 147 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:08,960 Speaker 2: of Haitian descent. Dominican troops and conscripted civilians mostly used machetes, 148 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 2: so this would look like the military hadn't been involved. 149 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:15,680 Speaker 2: This is known as the Petihel or Parsley massacre because, 150 00:09:15,720 --> 00:09:19,120 Speaker 2: according to some accounts, the Spanish word for parsley was 151 00:09:19,200 --> 00:09:22,760 Speaker 2: used to try to separate dark skinned Dominicans from Haitians. 152 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 2: If the person couldn't roll the r in Petihel very well, 153 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,120 Speaker 2: they were assumed to be Haitian and killed. This is 154 00:09:30,200 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 2: just one example of what was going on in Truchio's 155 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,280 Speaker 2: dictatorship In the years before the massacre. He had placed 156 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 2: the Dominican Republic under martial law and renamed the capitol 157 00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 2: after himself. After the massacre, he continued to stoke anti 158 00:09:44,640 --> 00:09:49,000 Speaker 2: Haitian sentiments and policy. He continued to have political opponents 159 00:09:49,080 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 2: murdered as he had leading up to his own election. 160 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:56,080 Speaker 2: He arranged monopolies and kickbacks so that he could personally 161 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:01,400 Speaker 2: benefit from Dominican business. He controlled virtually every aspect of life, 162 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:05,560 Speaker 2: including the press, the mail, passport, and air travel. 163 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: So this is who the Mirabal sisters were fighting against 164 00:10:08,559 --> 00:10:11,040 Speaker 1: and we will talk more about them after a sponsor break. 165 00:10:20,640 --> 00:10:24,760 Speaker 1: A renoted earlier. There were four Mirabal sisters. The oldest 166 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: was Patria Mirabal born on February twenty seventh, nineteen twenty four. 167 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,200 Speaker 1: She was named Patria because she was born on Dominican 168 00:10:32,280 --> 00:10:36,080 Speaker 1: Independence Day. The next was Belgeka Adella Mirabal, who was 169 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:39,040 Speaker 1: known as Data, born on March first, nineteen twenty five. 170 00:10:39,720 --> 00:10:43,600 Speaker 1: The third sister was Minerva Mirabal born March twelfth, nineteen 171 00:10:43,640 --> 00:10:46,679 Speaker 1: twenty sixth, and the youngest was Maria Treesa Mirabal born 172 00:10:46,760 --> 00:10:50,480 Speaker 1: on October fifteenth, nineteen thirty five. They were born and 173 00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:53,080 Speaker 1: grew up in Ojo de Agua, in the northern part 174 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: of the Dominican Republic. The family was relatively well off, 175 00:10:56,880 --> 00:11:00,800 Speaker 1: and the girls attended a Catholic boarding school. Their upbringing 176 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:03,840 Speaker 1: was fairly conventional for their social class, and all four 177 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:07,840 Speaker 1: women married respectable men and had children. Patrio was the 178 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:11,480 Speaker 1: first to marry in nineteen forty one, becoming Patria Mirabal 179 00:11:11,559 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: de Gonzales. After Patria had gotten married, but before any 180 00:11:15,960 --> 00:11:19,079 Speaker 1: of the younger sisters had, the Mirabell sisters caught the 181 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:24,160 Speaker 1: attention of President Trujillo Trhio's relationship with women was predatory. 182 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:27,440 Speaker 1: He had a squad of beauty scouts who traveled through 183 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:30,440 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic to find attractive young women and girls 184 00:11:30,480 --> 00:11:32,800 Speaker 1: to bring back to him. Some of these girls were 185 00:11:32,800 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 1: still in school. The women were essentially kidnapped and raped 186 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: and forced to either spend a night with Trujillo or 187 00:11:39,400 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: to stay with him for a much longer stretch. When 188 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,080 Speaker 1: Trujillo traveled himself, families typically tried to hide their female 189 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:49,560 Speaker 1: members to keep them away from him. The Mirabals were 190 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: invited to a party at Trujillo's estate in San Cristobal, 191 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,520 Speaker 1: not far from the Dominican capital. Invitations like this were 192 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: really not something that could be turned down, and so 193 00:12:00,720 --> 00:12:04,200 Speaker 1: they all went, and while they were there, Minerva Mirraball 194 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:08,959 Speaker 1: in particular, caught Trujillo's attention. There's some disagreement about exactly 195 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:13,359 Speaker 1: what happened. Some witnesses say they heard or saw Minerva 196 00:12:13,480 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: slapp Trujio across the face after their conversation became heated. 197 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: Members of her family later said that there had been 198 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: a very loud argument, but there wasn't a physical slap regardless. 199 00:12:25,280 --> 00:12:29,200 Speaker 1: Raphael Trujillo had made advances on Minerva Mirabal and she 200 00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,720 Speaker 1: had spurned him. Not only had she done that, but 201 00:12:32,840 --> 00:12:35,600 Speaker 1: she had done it in front of other people, and 202 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: this launched a personal revenge campaign against the Mirror Balls 203 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:43,640 Speaker 1: in general and Minerva specifically, and that went on for years. 204 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: Past podcast guest Jason Porath has a rejected Princess's entry 205 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,959 Speaker 1: about the sisters, and he describes Trujillo as quote a 206 00:12:52,960 --> 00:12:55,880 Speaker 1: man for whom no slight was too small, no grudge 207 00:12:55,960 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: too big. The sister's father sent repeated letters of apology 208 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 1: to President at Trujillo, but he was ultimately imprisoned. Minerva 209 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,360 Speaker 1: and her mother were also held under house arrest in 210 00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,559 Speaker 1: a hotel until Minerva agreed to meet with Trujillo again. 211 00:13:10,320 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: He tried to coerce her into having sex with him 212 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:16,040 Speaker 1: in order to secure her father's release, but she refused. 213 00:13:16,720 --> 00:13:19,440 Speaker 1: Although her father was ultimately let out of prison, he 214 00:13:19,600 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 1: died not long after he was finally released. Trujillo's retaliation 215 00:13:23,880 --> 00:13:26,960 Speaker 1: against the Mirabal family went on and on, and it 216 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 1: drove them into financial ruin. 217 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:32,240 Speaker 2: He was so public about it that people refused to 218 00:13:32,280 --> 00:13:35,560 Speaker 2: do business with the Mirra Balls the family was under 219 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:39,680 Speaker 2: constant surveillance by the Dominican Military Intelligence Service, who was 220 00:13:39,760 --> 00:13:42,800 Speaker 2: always willing to hear tips about how the Miraballs had 221 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:47,760 Speaker 2: misbehaved or been disloyal. Minerva in particular, was reported for 222 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:51,720 Speaker 2: everything from refusing to toast the Dictator's good health to 223 00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:55,480 Speaker 2: telling a car salesman that Truthio's owning a particular model 224 00:13:55,559 --> 00:13:58,360 Speaker 2: was a reason for her not to buy it. People 225 00:13:58,400 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 2: who associated with the Miraballs were taken in for questioning, 226 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,120 Speaker 2: and that questioning often involved imprisonment or torture. 227 00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:10,400 Speaker 1: This vendetta against Minerva Mirabal also affected her ability to 228 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,960 Speaker 1: study and practice law. First, she was denied enrollment for 229 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: her second year of law school until she gave a 230 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: public speech in praise of the dictator. Then, once she 231 00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,840 Speaker 1: actually finished law school, she was refused a license to practice, 232 00:14:22,920 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: even though she had graduated at the top of her class. 233 00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:30,280 Speaker 2: After all this ongoing harassment, abuse, and retaliation, it's not 234 00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 2: surprising that several of the Mirabals became involved in a 235 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:37,440 Speaker 2: revolutionary movement to try to unseat Raphael Trujillo in the 236 00:14:37,520 --> 00:14:41,680 Speaker 2: nineteen fifties. By this point, all four sisters had married, 237 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,920 Speaker 2: and Patria Minerva and Maria Theresa's husbands were also involved 238 00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:49,200 Speaker 2: in the movement, but this wasn't just about their own 239 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:53,760 Speaker 2: families experiences. The sisters wanted the Dominican Republic to have 240 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,520 Speaker 2: peace and democracy. By the late nineteen fifties, several organizations 241 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,720 Speaker 2: had formed to try to resist President Trujillo, and on 242 00:15:01,840 --> 00:15:05,720 Speaker 2: June fourteenth, nineteen fifty nine, exiled Dominicans returned to the 243 00:15:05,720 --> 00:15:09,280 Speaker 2: island of Hispaniola to try to overthrow him. Many of 244 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 2: these exiled Dominicans had trained in Cuba and had been 245 00:15:12,320 --> 00:15:16,320 Speaker 2: part of the Cuban Revolution. The Dominican military put down 246 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:19,800 Speaker 2: this uprising and most of the participants were killed. This 247 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,720 Speaker 2: incident inspired the name for the revolutionary organization that the 248 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,480 Speaker 2: Mirabal sisters and their husbands helped found. This was called 249 00:15:27,480 --> 00:15:31,200 Speaker 2: the Fourteenth of June Movement. It was formally established on 250 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 2: January tenth, nineteen sixty, in the home of Patria Mirabal 251 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 2: and her husband, Pedro Gonzales. Within the movement, the sisters 252 00:15:38,520 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 2: were known as Las Mariposis, or the Butterflies. In January 253 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:45,920 Speaker 2: of nineteen sixty, the Fourteenth of June Movement formulated a 254 00:15:45,920 --> 00:15:49,760 Speaker 2: plan to assassinate Trujillo with a bomb at a cattle fair. 255 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,320 Speaker 2: There are stories of Patria and her husband and children 256 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:57,160 Speaker 2: dismantling firecrackers to make bombs around their kitchen table. But 257 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 2: the day before this planned assassination, most of them members 258 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 2: of the fourteenth of June movement were arrested, and this 259 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:08,800 Speaker 2: included Minerva and Maria Theresa Miraval, their husbands, and Patria's husband, 260 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:11,320 Speaker 2: although Patria herself was not jailed. 261 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: Then, in July of nineteen sixty, with anti Truchillo activities 262 00:16:15,760 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: going on in the Dominican Republic, Trichillo attempted to have 263 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:24,320 Speaker 1: Venezuelan President Romulo Bettencourt assassinated using a car that was 264 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:28,560 Speaker 1: filled with dynamite. He had repeatedly criticized Trehillo, and although 265 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:32,360 Speaker 1: Trichillo had already been involved in other plots to assassinate him, 266 00:16:32,440 --> 00:16:36,200 Speaker 1: this was the one that drew international attention. The Organization 267 00:16:36,280 --> 00:16:40,680 Speaker 1: of American States unanimously voted to condemn Truchillo's actions and 268 00:16:40,720 --> 00:16:45,480 Speaker 1: to implement sanctions. The nations condemning Trujillo's actions included the 269 00:16:45,600 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: United States, which until this point had taken a relatively 270 00:16:49,520 --> 00:16:54,360 Speaker 1: tolerant stance of his dictatorship because he denounced communism, but 271 00:16:54,440 --> 00:16:58,360 Speaker 1: after this assassination attempt, the United States withdrew its ambassador 272 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:03,760 Speaker 1: and closed its embassy, facing widespread criticism and an international 273 00:17:03,840 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: fact finding mission into what was happening in the Dominican Republic. 274 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 1: Trehillo freed several women from Dominican prisons, including Minerva and 275 00:17:12,560 --> 00:17:18,439 Speaker 1: Maria Teresa Mirabal. Their husbands, though remained incarcerated. Eventually, the 276 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:21,639 Speaker 1: Mirabal sisters' husbands were transferred to a prison in Porto 277 00:17:21,680 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: Plata on the Dominican coast. Getting there from Ojo de 278 00:17:25,600 --> 00:17:29,840 Speaker 1: Agua required a drive over a relatively isolated mountain range. 279 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:33,120 Speaker 1: The Mirabal sisters made at least two trips to visit 280 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:36,760 Speaker 1: their husbands there without any trouble. They had to get 281 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:39,399 Speaker 1: official permission to make these visits, so they knew that 282 00:17:39,480 --> 00:17:42,040 Speaker 1: they were probably being monitored and that they were making 283 00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:44,840 Speaker 1: this trip at a great risk to their own lives. 284 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,399 Speaker 1: They were trying to work out a way to rent 285 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:49,600 Speaker 1: a house in Puerto Plata so that they could be 286 00:17:49,800 --> 00:17:53,360 Speaker 1: nearer to their husbands, but on November twenty fifth, while 287 00:17:53,400 --> 00:17:57,679 Speaker 1: returning home from a visit, they were overtaken by Truchuello's agents. 288 00:17:58,160 --> 00:18:01,320 Speaker 1: Patria Mirabald managed to flag down a passing truck and 289 00:18:01,359 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 1: tell the driver to please send word to their family 290 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,600 Speaker 1: in ohaed Agua to tell them what was happening. Then 291 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:11,560 Speaker 1: Truchio's agents beat all three of the sisters and their driver, 292 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,359 Speaker 1: strangled them and put their bodies back into the jeep 293 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,280 Speaker 1: that they had been traveling in, and the jeep was 294 00:18:18,280 --> 00:18:20,280 Speaker 1: pushed off the side of the mountain to try to 295 00:18:20,280 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: make it look like it was an accident. We'll talk 296 00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: about the aftermath of this assassination after another quick sponsor break. 297 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: President Trujillo had made it clear that he thought the 298 00:18:37,560 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: Mera Ball sisters were the source of a lot of 299 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:44,000 Speaker 1: his problems. He was facing international condemnation over the assassination 300 00:18:44,040 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 1: attempt of the Venezuelan president, and unrest was ongoing in 301 00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:50,679 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic, even though at this point most of 302 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,320 Speaker 1: the male leaders of the Fourteenth of June movement were 303 00:18:53,359 --> 00:18:57,560 Speaker 1: still in prison. On November two, nineteen sixty, he had 304 00:18:57,640 --> 00:19:01,119 Speaker 1: remarked that his two remaining problems the Catholic Church and 305 00:19:01,160 --> 00:19:04,639 Speaker 1: the Mirabal sisters. So it's really clear that he thought 306 00:19:04,680 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: that killing them was the solution and would fix all 307 00:19:07,840 --> 00:19:11,040 Speaker 1: these problems. He was having, but their assassinations had the 308 00:19:11,080 --> 00:19:14,960 Speaker 1: opposite effect, and today that action is regarded as the 309 00:19:14,960 --> 00:19:18,919 Speaker 1: beginning of the end for Trujillo's reign. Nobody bought the 310 00:19:18,960 --> 00:19:22,320 Speaker 1: idea that their deaths were an accident, apart from Patria's 311 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,480 Speaker 1: effort to raise the alarm. When their bodies were recovered, 312 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: there were clear finger marks on their necks from where 313 00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:32,320 Speaker 1: they had been strangled. The deaths of Minerva Patria and 314 00:19:32,359 --> 00:19:35,440 Speaker 1: Maria Theresa Mirabal got attention in a way that all 315 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:40,439 Speaker 1: of Trhillo's prior crimes really hadn't. They were young, attractive women. 316 00:19:40,800 --> 00:19:44,480 Speaker 1: Patrio was thirty six, Minerva was thirty four, and Maria 317 00:19:44,560 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: Theresa was twenty four. All of them had children. Trehillo 318 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 1: started to lose the support of the army and elites 319 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:57,000 Speaker 1: that had previously backed his rule. Maria Theresa's husband, Leandro Gusman, 320 00:19:57,119 --> 00:20:00,240 Speaker 1: described it as quote, they fertilized the earth with their 321 00:20:00,280 --> 00:20:04,520 Speaker 1: blood to bring about Trujillo's end. Six months later, on 322 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,760 Speaker 1: May thirtieth, nineteen sixty one, Rafael Trujillo was killed in 323 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: an ambush. Some of the people involved were members of 324 00:20:12,119 --> 00:20:16,199 Speaker 1: the Dominican Army. Although Trujillo's son rounded up most of 325 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:20,280 Speaker 1: them and had them executed. At least one survived. In 326 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:24,040 Speaker 1: the Dominican Republic. Today, the killing of Trujillo is generally 327 00:20:24,080 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: regarded as justice being done rather than as an assassination. 328 00:20:28,720 --> 00:20:31,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen sixty two, the Mirabel sisters assassins were put 329 00:20:31,920 --> 00:20:35,200 Speaker 1: on trial, and this televised trial began on June twenty 330 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,679 Speaker 1: seventh of that year. Although the men were convicted and 331 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: sentenced to twenty to thirty years of hard labor, they 332 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:45,520 Speaker 1: escaped from prison in nineteen sixty five during the Dominican Crisis, 333 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:48,400 Speaker 1: which is also known as the Dominican Civil War. They 334 00:20:48,400 --> 00:20:52,399 Speaker 1: weren't apprehended after that war was over. The assassination of 335 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: Rafael Trujillo unfortunately did not put an end to unrest, violence, 336 00:20:57,359 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: or dictatorial control over the Dominican Republic. Trujillo's successor was 337 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,919 Speaker 1: Juan Bosch, who intended to reform the government, but was 338 00:21:05,960 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: overthrown in a military coup in nineteen sixty three. This 339 00:21:10,200 --> 00:21:12,639 Speaker 1: led to the Civil War that we mentioned a moment ago. 340 00:21:12,760 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: As several factions tried to take control of the country. 341 00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 1: The United States intervened out of fear that the results 342 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:23,880 Speaker 1: would be a communist dictator, basically what was called another Cuba. 343 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,520 Speaker 1: More than twenty two thousand troops were deployed, and they 344 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,919 Speaker 1: arrived on April twenty eighth, nineteen sixty five, and the 345 00:21:31,040 --> 00:21:34,880 Speaker 1: end The Dominican Republic's next president was Joaquin Belaguer, who 346 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:37,720 Speaker 1: was elected in another election that was overseen by the 347 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,520 Speaker 1: United States. He had been Trahio's vice president, and he 348 00:21:41,560 --> 00:21:43,920 Speaker 1: remained in power for much of the next thirty years 349 00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:47,439 Speaker 1: until nineteen ninety six. He definitely didn't have nearly the 350 00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: tyrannical reputation that Rafael Trahillo did, but his later terms 351 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,760 Speaker 1: in office in particular, faced allegations of human rights abuses 352 00:21:54,760 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: and electoral fraud. 353 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:59,560 Speaker 2: After her sister's deaths De de Marrabal helped raise her 354 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,919 Speaker 2: nieces and nephews, and she protected her sister's legacy. She 355 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 2: became known as Donia Dede, founding the Mirabal Sisters Foundation 356 00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,000 Speaker 2: in nineteen ninety two in the Mirabal Sisters Museum. In 357 00:22:11,080 --> 00:22:14,560 Speaker 2: nineteen ninety four, she also wrote a book whose title 358 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 2: translates to Alive in Their Garden, which was about her 359 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:21,320 Speaker 2: sisters and their work. Data died from natural causes on 360 00:22:21,359 --> 00:22:24,640 Speaker 2: February first, twenty fourteen, at the age of eighty eight. 361 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,159 Speaker 2: Members of the Mirabal family have gone on to be 362 00:22:27,240 --> 00:22:30,919 Speaker 2: part of the Dominican government. After the nineteen ninety six election, 363 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 2: Dade's son, Jamie Davide Fernandez Mirrabal, became Vice President and 364 00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:38,399 Speaker 2: he has served in other roles in the government as well. 365 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:43,200 Speaker 2: Minerva's daughter, known as Mineux, became the Deputy Foreign Minister. 366 00:22:43,840 --> 00:22:48,840 Speaker 2: Her father and Minerva's husband, Manuel Tavares Eusto, continued to 367 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:51,679 Speaker 2: be involved in the movement after Minerva's death. He was 368 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 2: assassinated by former Trihillo generals in nineteen sixty three. Today 369 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 2: there are memorials to the Mirabal sisters all over the 370 00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:03,600 Speaker 2: Dominican Republic. Virtually every town has something to commemorate them, 371 00:23:03,960 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 2: whether that is a street, a school, a plaque, or 372 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,640 Speaker 2: some other monument. On March eighth, nineteen ninety seven, an 373 00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:14,199 Speaker 2: obelisk that Trujillo had built in honor of himself was 374 00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,680 Speaker 2: painted with a mural depicting the Mirabal sisters. In two 375 00:23:17,720 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 2: thousand and seven, the Dominican Republic, Salcedo Province was renamed 376 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,920 Speaker 2: Harmanas Mirabal Province. 377 00:23:24,960 --> 00:23:28,320 Speaker 1: The museum that Daye Mirabal established is in the last 378 00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:31,520 Speaker 1: house that the sisters lived in, and on November twenty fifth, 379 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:34,960 Speaker 1: two thousand, the sisters remains were exhumed, along with those 380 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:37,920 Speaker 1: of Minerva's husband, and they were all reinterred on the 381 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: museum grounds. 382 00:23:39,600 --> 00:23:43,520 Speaker 2: In nineteen ninety nine, the United Nations General Assembly issued 383 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 2: a resolution naming November twenty fifth the International Day for 384 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:50,800 Speaker 2: the Elimination of Violence against Women in commemoration of the 385 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 2: Mirabal Sisters. The day had been similarly observed in Latin 386 00:23:54,840 --> 00:24:04,080 Speaker 2: America and the Caribbean since nineteen eighty one. Thanks so 387 00:24:04,160 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 2: much for joining us on this Saturday. Since this episode 388 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:09,080 Speaker 2: is out of the archive, if you heard an email 389 00:24:09,080 --> 00:24:11,800 Speaker 2: address or a Facebook RL or something similar over the 390 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,000 Speaker 2: course of the show, that could be obsolete now. Our 391 00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:20,560 Speaker 2: current email address is History Podcast at iHeartRadio dot com. 392 00:24:20,960 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 2: You can find us all over social media at misst Dhistory, 393 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:27,600 Speaker 2: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, 394 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,200 Speaker 2: Google Podcasts, the iHeartRadio app, and wherever else you listen 395 00:24:31,280 --> 00:24:36,399 Speaker 2: to podcasts. Stuff you missed in History Class is a 396 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 2: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the 397 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:44,320 Speaker 2: iHeartRadio app. Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 398 00:24:44,359 --> 00:24:45,320 Speaker 2: favorite shows.