HISTORY OF THE MIRABAL SISTERS

Patria Mercedes Mirabal (February 27, 1924 November 25, 1960), Blgica Adela "Ded" Mirabal-Reyes (March 1, 1925 present), Mara Argentina Minerva Mirabal (March 12, 1926 November 25, 1960) and Antonia Mara Teresa Mirabal (October 15, 1936 November 25, 1960) were citizens of the Dominican Republic who fervently opposed the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. Ded Mirabal was not assassinated and has lived to tell the stories of the death of her sisters. As of 2010, Ded lives in Salcedo, Dominican Republic in the house where the sisters were born. She works to preserve her sisters' memory through the Museo Hermanas Mirabal which is also located in Salcedo and was home to the women for the final ten months of their lives. She published a book, Vivas en su Jardn, released on August 25, 2009. The Mirabal women grew up in an upper class, well-cultured environment. Their father was a farmer. All became married family women. Influenced by her uncle, Minerva became more involved in the anti-Trujillo movement. She studied law and became a lawyer, but because she declined Trujillo's romantic advances, he ordered that while she would be issued a degree she was not to receive her practitioner's license. Her sisters followed suit, and they eventually formed a group of opponents to the Trujillo regime, known as the Movement of the Fourteenth of June. Within that group, they were known as "The Butterflies" (Las Mariposas in Spanish) because that was the underground name that Minerva was given. Two of the sisters, Mara Argentina Minerva Mirabal and Antonia Mara Teresa Mirabal, were incarcerated and tortured on several occasions. Three of the sisters' husbands were incarcerated at La Victoria Penitentiary in Santo Domingo. Despite these setbacks, they persisted in fighting to end Trujillo's leadership. After the sisters' numerous imprisonments, Trujillo was blamed for their murders, but this is now being questioned but for Trujillos family. During an interview after Trujillo's assassination, General Pupo Roman claimed to have personal knowledge that they were killed by two men, Victor Alicinio and Pena Rivera, who were Trujillos own right hand men. Ciriaco de la Rosa, Ramon Emilio Rojas, Alfonso Cruz Vlaeria and Emilio Estrada Malleta were all members of his secret police force There is a question as to whether the Secret Police acted under a direct order or on their own initiative. Never Trujillo let a direct shadow of his hands in all the crimes of his dictator ship. Mr. Virgilio Pina Chevalier (Don Cucho), Trujillos family and intimate collaborator, says on page 151 of his book "La era de Trujillo. Narraciones de Don Cucho." (2008) that Trujillo refers Mirabals fact as an event so far of him. "But we know orders of this nature could not come from any authority lower than the national empire. That was no other one than the same Trujillo and much less to take place without his assent." In June 1962, began the trial against the accused and accomplices in the murder of the Mirabal sisters and their driver Rufino de la Cruz. In the dock were seated the perpetrators of the crime Quad, Ciriaco de la Rosa Valerio Alfonso Cruz, Emilio Estrada Malleta, Ramon Emilio Lora and Nestor Rojas Antonio Perez. As accomplices were tried Sandito Almonte, Candido Torres Tejada (absent in the trial), Chief Operations Military Intelligence Service in the Central station in Ciudad Trujillo, Victor Pea Alicinio Rivera, head of operations in the Cibao SIM, Silvio Antonio GomezSantana, Viterbo Alvarez (Pechito), Pedro Pena and David Ortiz Olivero. Judge Dr. Osvaldo B. Soto, presiding over the special court. The prosecutor was Attorney James Dr. Rafael Benitez, while the civil party was represented by Dr. Hector Sanchez

Morcelo, Ramon Pina Acevedo, Francisco Martinez Carvajal, Antonio Guzman and Miguel A. Vasquez Fernandez. The defense lawyer of the accused was the public defender Hector Baron Goico. The court convicted the main accused to the maximum sentence of 30 years, except that Ciriaco de la Rosa was an unusual sentenced to only 20 years for allegedly collaborating with the clarification of the crime, but never actually met, and after the help of military groups were provided with passports Trujillo and removed from the Dominican Republic. Ciriaco de la Rosa revealed during the trial following the murder the following: After apresarlas, drove to the chosen site where Rojas ordered him to take sticks and Lora will take one of the girls. Complied with the order on the spot and took one of them, the long braids (Maria Theresa). Cruz Alfonso Valerio chose the highest (Minerva), I chose the shorter and chubby (Motherland) and Malleta, the driver, Rufino de la Cruz. I ordered everyone to be interned in a cane field beside the road, separated all the victims to witness the execution of each. I ordered Perez Terrero to stay on the road to see if a vehicle approaching or someone who could hear the case. That is the truth of the case. I do not want to cheat justice or the people. I tried to avert disaster, but could not, because otherwise we would have paid them all. These statements were contradicted soon after the discovery that the crime actually occurred in the grounds of the house in The Summit, as Rivera Pea wanted to see the bodies with their own eyes before ordering throw off the cliff, they had to give a reliable report to their superiors. On December 17, 1999, the United Nations General Assembly designated November 25 (the anniversary of the murder of the Mirabal sisters) as the annual date for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in commemoration of the sisters. This day also marks the beginning of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence. The end of the 16 Days is December 10, International Human Rights Day. They are also printed on the front of the 200 dominican pesos bill. In 1994, Dominican-American author Julia lvarez published her novel In the Time of the Butterflies, a fictionalized account of the lives of the Mirabal sisters. The novel was adapted into the 2001 movie In the Time of the Butterflies, starring Salma Hayek as Minerva, Edward James Olmos as Trujillo, and singer Marc Anthony in a supporting role. The sisters are mentioned in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007) by Dominican-American novelist Junot Daz. The story is fictionalized in the children's book How the Butterflies Grew Their Wings by Jacob Kushner. Chilean filmmaker Cecilia Domeyko produced Code Name: Butterflies, a documentary that tells the real-life story of the Mirabal sisters. It contains interviews with Ded Mirabal and other Dominican members of the Mirabal family. Actress Michelle Rodriguez acted in the film adaptation of the true story of the sisters called Trpico de Sangre. Rodriguez plays Minerva Mirabal and also co-produced the film. Ded Mirabal, the real-life surviving sister, participated in the development of the film. The sisters are mentioned in Mario Vargas Llosa's The Feast of the Goat.

Assassination of Trujillo
On Tuesday May 30, 1961, at 9:45 pm, at km 9 on the road from Santo Domingo to San Cristobal, the car he was traveling in Trujillo was shot in an ambush plotted by Modesto Diaz, Salvador EstrellaSadhala, Antonio de la Maza, Amado Garcia Guerrero, Manuel Caceres Michel ("Tunti"), Juan Tomas Diaz, Roberto Pastoriza, Tio Luis Amiama, Antonio Imbert Barrera, Pedro Livio Cedeno and Huascar Tejeda. Received more than 60 bullet holes of various sizes, of which seven were in his body, killing him, his driver Zachary Cross received several hits, but not killed, but the executioners left him for dead. The CIA supplied weapons had been hidden by the U.S. Simon Thomas Stocker, contacted by the CIA under the code name of "Hector" and living in the Dominican Republic since 1942. Stocker refused the pay of the CIA for their efforts, citing his moral conviction. The weapons were hidden for more than two months, personal risk and your family, inside a small closet in his study at his private residence, since demolished, located on a site on the south side of Independence Avenue, near Home Maximo Gomez Avenue. Some said that such weapons never reached the hands of the organizers of the assassination of the dictator, because the alleged lack of an explicit authorization of the CIA for delivery. This view was contradicted by testimony orally, issued by Stocker family and people you trust, claiming that the weapons were delivered by him to a Dominican, after having hidden in your house for about three months, confirmed his account of truth . However, this version was denied by the sole survivor of the execution, General Imbert Barrera. Some analysts mention that the U.S. interest in ending Trujillo was due to the repression of his government could bring a revolution to the Dominican Republic, similar to the Cuban revolution, fundamental consequence of total rejection of the Cuban people's dictatorial government President Fulgencio Batista. The family tried to flee with the body of Trujillo on his boat "Angelita," but were captured. His funeral, held on 2 June of that year was that of a statesman with a long procession from the National Palace to the town of San Cristobal, where his body was buried. Thousands of people from all walks of life filed past the coffin containing the remains of Trujillo. The then President Joaquin Balaguer gave the eulogy, which was most remembered: It ... The time is ripe for swear on the relics dear to defend his memory and we will be faithful to their slogans maintaining unity.Dear Boss, goodbye. Your spiritual children, veterans of the campaigns that have delivered for over 30 years, we will look to your grave as a symbol and not omit upright means to prevent the extinction of the flame that you lit on the altars of the Republic and in the soul of all Dominicans. After this, the people voted for the Trujillo family to come out of the country, so Ramfis Trujillo had to take the body of his father's country. Trujillo was buried in Paris in the Pre-Lachaise Cemetery, at the request of their families. In 2009 there was much controversy in the Dominican Republic in the 48 th anniversary of his death. There was talk of moving the remains of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, specifically with national heroes. Most people strongly opposed this idea. Currently Trujillo's remains found in a cemetery in the small community of El Pardo, 25 minutes from Madrid in Spain, cemetery which is well below the characteristics of the other cemeteries in Madrid, and a tomb that probably does not resemble in nothing to that built by the dictator in his native St. Kitts in the 1950's.

Several hours after the death of Rafael Trujillo, his son RamfisTrujillo, who was in Paris, rented a plane and returned to SantoDomingo in the early hours of Wednesday 31 May, placingimmediately in front of the situation and becoming the country's strongman, although Joaquin Balaguer was formally in charge of thepresidency. The Military Intelligence Service (MIS) and all state security services carried out extensive raids in all sectors of the city, looking for the perpetrators. On June 2, 1961 SIM agents stormed the home of LieutenantAmado Garcia Guerrero where he was killed by several gunshotsfrom machine guns. On June 4 of that year were killed two othersinvolved, Juan Tomas Diaz and Antonio de la Maza. On June 10,was arrested and tortured Gen. Jose Rene Roman Fernandez("Pupo") who served as secretary of the armed forces of the dictatorship, as it was found that this was linked to the assassination of Trujillo. On November 18, Rafael RobertoPastoriza were captured Neret, Pedro Livio Cedeno Herrera, LuisSalvador Estrella Sadhala, Modesto Diaz Quezada, HuascarTejeda Antonio Pimentel and Manuel Caceres Luis Michel ("Tunti").They were taken to the "Hacienda Maria" in San Cristobal, where they were shot by order of Ramfis Trujillo. Soon after, international pressure, Ramfis and his family left the country. Ramfis was the favorite son of Trujillo and from the beginningextremely spoiled to the point k was appointed general of thenational army barely four years old. excesses were maybe this whatshaped his character. Although distinguishable in sports like polo and motor racing was not a serious student and even came to be expelled from WestPoint Military Academy for his poor performance and misconductthat I preferred the worldly life and training compos classrooms. I fail to have neither the character nor the strength of his father andeven became general joint force land sea and air (the air force was their darling) showed no intention to continue the reign of his father and that seemed like most of the life of extravagance and pleasureabroad to take responsibility for continued tyranny. In fact theCiando dies trujillo was in paris and return immediately but had neither the will nor the cunning necessary to lace up his father. He was a bit quiet and talkative, had a very close circle of friendsand trusted secrets to anyone outside this circle.