Dominican Civil War

TheDominican Civil War(Spanish:Guerra Civil Dominicana), also known as theApril Revolution(Spanish:Revolución de Abril), took place between April 24, 1965, and September 3, 1965, inSanto Domingo,Dominican Republic. It started when civilian and military supporters of theoverthrowndemocratically elected presidentJuan Boschousted the militarily installed presidentDonald Reid Cabralfrom office. The secondcoupprompted GeneralElías Wessin y Wessinto organize elements of the military loyal to the dictator Reid ("loyalists"), initiating an armed campaign against the "constitutionalist" rebels.
Allegations ofcommunistsupport for the rebels led to a United States invasion (codenamedOperation Power Pack),which later transformed into anOrganization of American Statesoccupation of the country by theInter-American Peace Force. Although ostensibly neutral, U.S. civilian and military leaders deployed troops in a way that aided the anti-Bosch forces.Elections were held in 1966, in the aftermath of whichJoaquín Balaguerwas elected. Later in the same year, foreign troops departed from the country.
Juan Emilio Bosch Gaviñowas the first democratically elected president of the Dominican Republic. Sworn into office on February 27, 1963, he tried to implement a number of social reforms, which caused the anger of thebusiness magnatesand members of the army, who initiated a rumor campaign that accused Bosch of being a communist. On September 25, 1963, a group of twenty-five senior military commanders, led by GeneralElías Wessin y Wessin, expelled Bosch from the country and installedDonald Reid Cabralas the new president. Reid failed to gather popular support, and several factions prepared to launch a counter-coup; Constitutionalists under Bosch, a group in the Dominican army under Peña Taveras, supporters of the formerDominican Revolutionary Partyleader Nicolás Silfa and plotters siding withJoaquín Balaguer.
On April 24, 1965, three junior officers requested a meeting with President Donald Reid Cabral, who rejected the offer after he had received news of a suspected anti-government plot. When Chief of Staff Riviera Cuesta was instead sent to discuss with the officers at the August 16 military camp, he was immediately detained. A group of military constitutionalists andDominican Revolutionary Party(DRP) supporters then seized the Radio Santo Domingo building and issued calls of sedition while Constitutionalist officers distributed weapons andMolotov cocktailsto their civilian comrades. The transmissions prompted the garrison of the February 27 camp and a unit of theDominican Navy'sfrogmen to defect. Large numbers of police officers abandoned their positions and changed into civilian clothing.
The following day, Reid appointed General Wessin y Wessin as the new chief of staff. Wessin rallied the government troops, branded them Loyalists, and announced his plans of suppressing the rebellion. At 10:30 am rebels stormed the presidential palace and arrested Reid. Several hours later, four LoyalistP-51 Mustangsconducted aerial bombings of the National Palace and other Constitutionalist positions, and one plane was shot down by ground machine-gun fire during the incident.A single Loyalist vessel,Mella, on theriver Ozama, also bombarded the palace. Fearing that a mob, which had gathered at the palace, would lynch Reid, the rebel commanderFrancisco Caamañoallowed him to escape, as Reid had already lost the support of the Loyalists. The majority of the DRP leadership fled the capital, and Constitutionalists mobilized a total of 5,000 armed civilians and 1,500 members of the military.On April 26,José Rafael Molina Ureñawas declared the provisional president, and large crowds gathered in the streets to demand Bosch's return from exile.
In the meantime, U.S. diplomats in Santo Domingo initiated preparations for evacuating 3,500 U.S. citizens. In the early morning of April 27, a group of 1,176 foreign civilians who had assembled in Hotel Embajador were airlifted to theBajos de Hainanaval facility, where they boardedUSSRuchamkinandUSSWood County, as well as the helicopters ofHMM-264, which evacuated them from the island toUSSBoxerandUSSRaleigh. Later that day, 1,500 Loyalist troops, supported by armored cars and tanks, marched from theSan Isidro Air Base, captured Duarte Bridge, and took position on the west bank of the Ozama River. A second force, consisting of 700 soldiers, leftSan Cristóbaland attacked the western suburbs of Santo Domingo. Wessin y Wessin ordered his armored units to cross the Duarte Bridge into Santo Domingo's center. However, the tanks quickly became bogged down in fierce combat within the narrow streets; armed civilians destroyed them. Unable to advance, the Loyalists retreated to San Isidro. The battle resulted in hundreds of casualties.
Rebels overran theFortaleza Ozamapolice headquarters and took 700 prisoners. On April 28, armed civilians attacked theVilla Consuelopolice station and executed all of the police officers who survived the initial skirmish. OneU.S. Marine Corpsbattalion landed in Haina and later moved to Hotel Embajador, where it provided assistance in the upcoming airlifts. During the night, 684 civilians were airlifted to USSBoxer. One US Marine was killed by a rebel sniper during the operation.On April 29, theU.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic,William Tapley Bennett, who had sent numerous reports to U.S. PresidentLyndon Johnson, reported that the situation had reached life-threatening proportions for US citizens and that the rebels were Communists. Bennett stressed that the U.S. had to act immediately, as the creation of an international coalition would be time-consuming. Contrary to the suggestions of his advisers, Johnson authorized the transformation of evacuation operations into a large-scale military intervention through Operation Power Pack, which was aimed to prevent the development of what he saw as a secondCuban Revolution.It was the first overt U.S. military intervention in Latin America in more than 30 years, although it came on the heels of U.S.-backed coups inGuatemalaandBrazil, as well as ongoing covert operations inCuba.
At 2:16 a.m. on April 30, 1965, the 3rd Brigade of the82nd Airborne Divisionlanded at theSan Isidro Air Baseand started the U.S. military intervention in the conflict. During the next couple of hours, two brigade combat teams and heavy equipment were also dispatched. At sunrise the 1st Battalion,508th Infantry Regimentmoved up the San Isidoro highway under the cover ofF-4 Phantomjets flying fromPuerto Rico, securing a position east of the Duarte bridge. More units of the 82nd Airborne landed and secured the entire east bank of the Ozama River. Rebel positions across the river were destroyed by 105 mm howitzers. U.S. soldiers crossed the bridge and occupied a six-block area on the western side of the Duarte Bridge, but suffered casualties from sniper fire. The 1st Battalion505th Infantry Regimentremained at the airbase and sent out patrols to the perimeter. A force of 1,700 Marines of the 6th Marine Expeditionary Unit occupied an area containing a number of foreign embassies. The locale was proclaimed an International Security Zone by theOrganization of American States(OAS). Earlier in the day, the OAS also issued a resolution calling the combatants to end all hostilities. At 4:30 p.m., representatives of the loyalists, the rebels, and the U.S. military signed a ceasefire that was to take effect at 11:45 p.m. That timing favored thedemoralizedLoyalists, who had lost control ofCiudad Colonial.
On May 5, the OAS Peace Committee arrived in Santo Domingo, and a second definite ceasefire agreement was signed, which ended the main phase of the civil war. Under the Act of Santo Domingo, the OAS was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the peace deal as well as distributing food and medication through the capital. The treaties failed to prevent some violations such as small-scale firefights and sniper fire. A day later, OAS members established theInter-American Peace Force(IAPF) with the goal of serving as a peacekeeping formation in the Dominican Republic. The IAPF had 1,748 Brazilian,Paraguayan,Nicaraguan,Costa Rican,SalvadoranandHondurantroops and was headed by Brazilian General Hugo Panasco Alvim, with US Army GeneralBruce Palmerserving as his deputy commander.General Palmer proposed sending U.S. troops to eliminate the northern rebel sector and shut down the rebel-held radio station, but Washington blocked any offensive operations involving U.S. troops.
Utilizing Radio Santo Domingo as their primary weapon, the rebels launched a psychological campaign against the United States, the OAS, and the Loyalists. Through numerous outlets, studios, and transmission sites nationwide, they employed Radio Santo Domingo to incite a nationwide rebellion. In response, American forces initiated jamming operations, deployingArmy Security Agency(ASA) units on land, air force units in the skies, and naval ships at sea. Additionally, a reinforced company from the army's7th Special Forces Group, led by Col. Edward Mayer, attacked critical relay sites beyond the capital. Their initial efforts were not effective, however, and rebel broadcasts continued to make their influence felt countrywide.
On May 7, 1965, the Government of National Reconstruction (GNR) was established with Antonio Imbert Barrera as president. On May 13, the GNR launched an air attack on Radio Santo Domingo and its main transmitter sites. One of the planes accidentally strafed U.S. troops, prompting the Americans to return fire and shoot down another P-51 of World War II vintage.The following day, the GNR initiated an offensive against the rebel-held northern sector. They overwhelmed the rebels' initial defense line, seizing control of the majority of the city's industrial sector. By May 21, GNR troops had completed the destruction of the rebel northern zone and captured Radio Santo Domingo.
On June 15, the Constitutionalists launched a second and final attempt to expand the boundaries of their stronghold. In the bloodiest battle of the intervention, the rebels began their attack on U.S. outposts. Using the greatest firepower yet, they used tear gas grenades, .50-caliber machine guns, 20 mm guns, mortars, rocket launchers, and tank fire. The 1st battalions of the 505th and 508th Infantry quickly went on the offensive. Two days of fighting cost the 82nd Airborne 5 killed and 36 wounded in action.The OAS forces, whose orders were to remain at their defenses, counted five wounded. The Constitutionalists lost 67 killed and 165 wounded.
On May 26, 1965, U.S. forces began gradually withdrawing from the island. By June 6, no U.S. Marines remained on the island, leaving elements of the 82nd Airborne as the primary U.S. combat force. The total U.S. troop strength at that time had decreased to about 12,000. The civil war formally ended on August 31, 1965, with a ceasefire agreement, followed by the establishment of a provisional government on September 3, 1965.
The first postwar elections were held on July 1, 1966, and pitted the conservative Reformist Party candidate,Joaquín Balaguer, against the former presidentJuan Emilio Bosch Gaviño. Balaguer emerged victorious in the elections after he built his campaign on promises of reconciliation. On September 21, 1966, the last OAS peacekeepers withdrew from the island, which ended the foreign intervention in the conflict.