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Volume IV, No. 1/November 2001
Protagonists of the April ’65 Revolution in the Dominican Republic Meet at UMass Boston
By Andres Paniagua
"In the military we used to play war games as part of the training exercises, but this time it was not a game, and that was the big difference. When you play war games, after the exercises you go on to shake hands and hug your buddies. In war, after the battle all that remain are debris, destruction and the bodies of your comrades and friends piled up all over the place, and that’s not a spectacle anyone would want to see." With these words and tears running from his eyes, Retired General Ramiro Matos, a sculptor who also serves as an advisor to the minister of defense in the Dominican Republic, spoke at UMass Boston about his participation in the 1965 civil war and the U.S. intervention in the Dominican Republic.
Gen. Matos led his troops into what was considered one of the most significant battles of the conflict: the battle for the control of the Duarte Bridge, a dividing line between the western and the eastern parts of the city of Santo Domingo. He was at UMass as part of the symposium sponsored by the Joiner Center, which brought together, for the first time in 36 years, some of the main protagonists of this conflict. Flanked by Ret. Gen. Hector Tejada and Elias Wessin y Chavez, representing his father, Ret. Gen. Elias Wessin y Wessin, Matos spoke with his heart in his hands; in a low tone of voice and with a humble attitude, the mild-mannered former general spoke about his experiences and personal views of the conflict.
The conflict took thousands of lives, provoked a military intervention by the United States, and led to a period of terror and political persecution during which scores of Dominicans disappeared, were imprisoned, or went into a self-imposed exile. It began as a counter-coup by a group of young officers who intended to re-establish in power the constitutional and freely elected government of Juan Bosch.
After living under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo for 31 years, the Dominican Republic held free elections in 1962. Juan Bosch, a prominent writer living in exile, was elected president of the Dominican Republic in 1962 after the assassination of Trujillo. Bosch ran on a populist program that called for economic and land reform, promising a new beginning for all Dominicans. His political platform and later his government were targeted by the most conservative groups of Dominican society as well as important sectors of the clergy and the military. His government was overthrown in 1963, seven months after he was sworn in and replaced by a civic military junta that lasted just a few months.
Bosch’s party, under the internal leadership of José Francisco Peña Gomez, organized the internal resistance to the several de facto regimes that succeeded one another for the next two years. Bosch’s Dominican Revolutionary Party recruited young officers in the several branches of the military which in 1965 attempted to overthrow the regime headed by Donald Reid Cabral. The confrontation between the military factions opened the gate for a full-scale conflict joined by civilian and political organizations opposed to the de facto government. This conflict, just a few miles away from Cuba, prompted a United States intervention, with Lyndon B. Johnson ordering several units from the 82nd Airborne Division and a Marine contingent for a build-up of more than 57,000 American troops. Over 9,000 people died in this conflict that ended with a negotiation, the exile of the main protagonists, and elections held under the supervision of foreign troops.
Held in the Media Conference Room of the Healey Library and transmitted live to Santo Domingo via the internet, the two-day conference was more than a scholarly symposium. Intended to bring together participants from all sides of the conflict under the theme "Reflections, Memories and Recollections", the conference participants recounted their recollections of the war and evaluated their participation in the conflict. The recollections at times took on a very emotional tone and drew recriminations and exchanges both from the panelists and the audience, composed mostly of Dominicans from surrounding communities and as far away as New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Jaime Rodríguez, research coordinator at the Joiner Center and the person who conceived the project, spoke about how he began working on the idea when he was invited to attend the inauguration of Hipólito Mejía as president of the Dominican Republic in August 2000. "As a veteran, I began to research and talk to people about the history of the country," said Rodríguez. "I was curious because this conflict started just about the same time the U.S. was building up its forces in Vietnam, but it was almost unknown and nothing had ever been done to bring together the different factions that fought against each other." Rodríguez thought that Massachusetts and UMass Boston would be a good place to bring these people together, because of the experience of the Joiner Center working with veterans and the large Dominican community living in Boston.
Hamlet Herman, a participant in the revolution and later a guerrilla in the mountains of Santo Domingo, spoke mostly about the Cold War antecedents to the conflict. The politics of the Cold War was, in Herman’s view, responsible for the revolution and the intervention of the United States.
Fafa Taveras, a revolutionary commander and one of the leaders of the June 14, a leftist political organization, agrees with Rodríguez. "It was almost impossible to hold an event of this kind in Santo Domingo," Taveras said. "Although we have all grown older, we still see one another with the suspiciousness of war and the resentment of politics, the politics that divided us." Speaking during the event, he mentioned the psychological, sociological, and political circumstances under which a young generation of Dominicans was formed and related the motivation for them to join revolutionary organizations and support the conflict. "Growing up under the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo made us conscious of the value of freedom," Taveras observed. Rafael (Cucuyo) Baez, ambassador to Cuba and chief of the Rebel Police and revolutionary commander of the northern sector of the city, spoke about his experiences at the front where he was wounded on several occasions, and his role later as the police chief.
Representing the loyalist side, Ret. Gen. Hector Garcia Tejada spoke about the chaos behind the lines during the first few days of the conflict. Elias Wessin y Chavez represented his father, Gen. Elias Wessin y Wessin, the leader and commander of the loyalist forces during the conflict. Reading a statement sent by his father, Wessin y Chavez spoke about the political circumstances that gave rise to the conflict. Among them he cited guerrilla training centers spread all around the country and mentioned anticommunist motives as the catalyst for the war. Wessin y Chavez is a representative in the Dominican Congress and also a Protestant minister.
Ramón Montes Arache talked about the movement as well as the tactics of the rebel forces. A colonel and commander of the elite "Frog Men" troops, Montes Arache led his troops into some of the bloodiest battles of the revolution.
Magaly Pineda spoke about the participation of women during the revolution. Although several women fought alongside men in direct combat, most of them stayed behind the line in a supporting role. "Let me make this clear," said Pineda. "Most of us were not in the fire line, but it was only because of the role women are supposed to play in traditional society. The Dominican Republic was a country dominated by traditional family and religious values that established what women could and couldn’t do. However, we played an important logistical role without which the men on the line of fire could not have done their job. We fed them, took care of the wounded, washed their clothes, and served as messengers moving behind the lines." She also made an emotional appeal to the University of Massachusetts and to the audience on behalf of some who were unable to attend because the State Department denied them entrance into the country. This, according to Pineda, was reminiscent of the Cold War and of a conflict that took place 36 years ago. She issued a plea to UMass authorities to keep their invitation open.
Ramiro Matos and Hamlet Herman thanked UMass and the organizers of the symposium. "This event," in Herman’s words, "will stay not only in the mind, but also in the heart of all Dominicans. What you have done goes beyond your wildest imagination. We have always known in the Dominican Republic that we needed an event of this sort that will bring all of us together and contribute to the healing process and the closure of the scars of the conflict, but were unable to figure out how to do it. This event will help us to find peace in our hearts; this is something we all owe to ourselves, and we owe it also to our children if we want them to grow in a world without hate."
The group was greeted by then Provost Charles Cnudde at a reception in the Chancellor’s Conference Room. During the conference, Isamel Ramírez, dean of the College of Public and Community Service and the Graduate School, welcomed the group and stated the commitment of UMass Boston to host events of this kind, which bring our community together and serve to promote the history and values of the large Latin American community living in Massachusetts. Kevin Bowen, the director of the Joiner Center, greeted the group and spoke about the Joiner Center experience working with veterans. He highlighted the work of the center in bringing together veterans of various U.S. conflicts.
Andres Paniagua coordinates special projects for the College of Public and Community Service and the Office of Graduate Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
