As the Dominican Republic is the only country in the Caribbean that attained its independence from Haiti, a "black country," the country and its leaders grew a disdain and disowned anything associated with Haiti. Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, sought to establish a more "European" identity for the country by outlawing the practice of "African religious and cultural rites." In 1937, Trujillo ordered the massacre of 20,000 Haitians residing in the Dominican border. His successor, Joaquín Balaguer, who gained power in 1966, maintained that the Dominican Republic was a "Caucasian Western Nation," despite the predominance of black and mixed race peoples in the country’s population (84%). Dark skinned Dominicans are granted citizenship and civil rights so long as they do not identify as black. Rather in order to distinguish their "dark skin and African features," Dominicans use the term "Indio oscuro" (or Dark Indian).