Balaguer and the Dominican Military: Presidential Control of the Factional Officer Corps in the 1960s and 1970s

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Following the 1961 assassination of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo, the Dominican Republic descended into a period of national turmoil and political instability, culminating in 1965 when a catastrophic civil war engulfed the capital city of Santo Domingo. The intervention of foreign troops, particularly U.S. troops, played a critical role in the multinational effort to establish a new leader in Joaquin Balaguer, a skillful civilian leader who defeated both a right wing coup and a Cuban - based guerrilla expedition, and successfully gained control of the chaotic Dominican Republic officer corps by the mid - 1970s. In this comprehensive study of the Dominican Republic’s Balaguer era, the author draws upon declassified military documents and his own experiences as an army attache to the U.S. Embassy, Dominican Republic, during the early 1970s. The result is a unique, inside look at Balaguer’s presidency, his skillful manipulation of rival officers and cliques, and American involvement in the political history of the Dominican Republic.