From 1942 to 1952 Rafael Leonidas Trujillo ruled Dominican Republic, repressing the Communists and their opponents. Trujillo ordered the assassination of Romulo Betancourt, who was the founder of Democratic Action, but before he found out about this ambush, Trujillo's plan ended in failure. In October 1937 the Parsley massacre took place in which the main objective was to assassinate immigrants Hatians residing in Dominican Republic, it is estimated that the dead during the massacre were 12,168 dead, by the president Haitian Élie Lescot, 12,136 dead and 2419 injured by Jean Price-Mars, 17,000 dead by Joaquin Balaguer and 35,000 killed by Bernardo Vega. The Dictatorship ended when Trujillo was assassinated in 1961 in the city of Santo Domingo.