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= = = Catalytic reagents = = = |
Shown below are several of the most successful catalysts along with the yields and enantiomeric excess for their use in synthesis of ( E ) -stilbene oxide . Catalytic reagents have been less successful , with most variations suffering from poor yield , poor enantioselectivity , or both . Since the factors underlying these desiderata are at odds , tuning of the catalyst properties has proven difficult . The trouble stems from the need for a nucleophilic sulfide that efficiently generates the ylide which can also act as a good leaving group to form the epoxide . There are also issues with substrate scope , most having limitations with methylene transfer and aliphatic aldehydes . |
Aggarwal has developed an alternative method employing the same sulfide as above and a novel alkylation involving a rhodium carbenoid formed in situ . The method too has limited substrate scope , failing for any electrophiles possessing basic substituents due to competitive consumption of the carbenoid . |
= Treaty of Ciudad Juárez =
|
The treaty put an end to the fighting between forces supporting Madero and those of Díaz and thus concluded the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution . The Treaty of Ciudad Juárez was a peace treaty signed between the then President of Mexico , Porfirio Díaz , and the revolutionary Francisco Madero on May 21 , 1911 . |
Díaz resigned on May 25 , and interim president Francisco León de la Barra was the new incumbent . Those who had suffered losses due to the revolution would be the indemnified , and there would be a general amnesty . Díaz and his family , his vice president Corral , plus José Yves Limantour and Rosendo Pineda left Mexico for exile . The treaty stipulated that Díaz , as well as his vice president Ramón Corral , were to step down by the end of May , and that he was to be replaced by Francisco León de la Barra as interim president and hold presidential elections . |
It also left the Porfirian state essentially intact . Additionally , Madero supported the unpopular idea that all land disputes were to be settled through the courts , staffed by the old judges , a decision that led to outbreaks of sporadic violence , particularly in rural areas . Significantly , the treaty did not mention or institute any social reforms that Madero had vaguely promised on previous occasions . |
On June 7 , 1911 , Madero entered Mexico City . Madero pushed aside Francisco Vázquez Gómez , the vice presidential candidate for the Anti @-@ Reelectionist Party in 1910 , as being too moderate . In October 1911 he was elected president , under the banner of the Partido Constitucional Progresista , along with José María Pino Suárez , his new running mate as vice @-@ president . |
= = Military developments leading up to the treaty = = |
The rebellion against the government of Porfirio Díaz broke out in late 1910 , after Díaz had his rival Francisco Madero imprisoned and had announced his own victory in a falsified election . He himself escaped from prison and fled to Texas , from where he issued his famous Plan of San Luis Potosí . This manifesto called for an armed uprising against the Porfiriato and establishment of free and democratic elections . As a response to Madero 's proclamation , violent clashes began throughout Mexico in November 1910 . Madero 's earlier vague promises of agrarian reforms had attracted many supporters . |
Additionally , political support for Madero 's rebellion came from Abraham González , who accepted the Plan of San Luis Potosí . ) He then began operations which threatened Ciudad Juárez . In the Guerrero district of Chihuahua , Pascual Orozco attacked Federal troops and sent dead soldiers ' clothing back to Díaz with the message , " Ahí te van las hojas , mándame más tamales " ( " Here are the wrappers , send me more tamales . " |
At roughly the same time , agrarian unrest in the state of Morelos turned into a full blown rebellion under the leadership of the Zapata brothers , Emiliano and Eufemio . |
= = = Orozco and Villa take Ciudad Juárez = = = |
After two days of fighting the city fell to the insurrectionists . Orozco and Villa led the way with 500 men each , while Madero followed up with 1 @,@ 500 riders . He in fact ordered his commanders to lift the siege . Concerned also with the possibility that a direct attack on the town would cause artillery shells to cross the border into the United States which could provoke an outside intervention , and faced with a series of peace proposals from Díaz , Madero hesitated in attacking the city . Madero intervened personally to spare the life of the city 's commander , Gen. Navarro , whom both Orozco and Villa wanted executed for his previous killing of rebel POWs . Encouraged by the news of the uprisings , Madero crossed the border back into Mexico in February 1911 . He was joined by Pancho Villa and Orozco and in April the army began approaching Ciudad Juárez . The city was besieged by the end of the month , after Madero 's army encountered some resistance in the Chihuahuan countryside . Orozco , however disregarded the order and , joined by Villa , attacked . This , coupled with the fact that both leaders were ignored by Madero in his political appointments , outraged and estranged them from him . Madero asked the commander of the city 's garrison to surrender but the latter refused , hoping that the fortifications he had constructed would allow him to defend the city until reinforcements arrived . |
= = = Zapata in south and central Mexico = = = |
In order to mislead his opponents however , he initially attacked and captured the towns of Izúcar de Matamoros ( which was subsequently retaken by federal forces ) and Chietla . Subsequently Zapata , for political and strategic reasons , decided to attack the city of Cuautla . Zapata 's first military action was to take the town of Chinameca where he obtained essential supplies . From there he made a wide circle around Cuautla and captured Yautepec and Jonacatepec where he gathered more supplies , munitions and soldiers . At about the same time that Villa and Orozco were marching on Ciudad Juárez , the Zapatista revolt gathered strength and spread to the states of Puebla , Tlaxcala , Mexico , Michoacán and Guerrero . However , Zapata was worried that if he did not fully control all the major towns in Morelos by the time that Madero concluded negotiations with Díaz , the demands of his agrarian movement and the issue of the autonomy of Morelos would be ignored or sidelined . By May , out of all the major urban centers in the region , only Cuautla and the capital of Morelos , Cuernavaca , remained outside of his control . On April 14 , Madero had Emiliano Zapata officially designated as his representative in the region . |
On May 19 , the remains of the " Golden Fifth " pulled out of the town which was then occupied by Zapata 's soldiers . It consisted of house to house fighting , hand @-@ to @-@ hand combat , and no quarter given by either side . General Victoriano Huerta arrived in nearby Cuernavaca with 600 reinforcements , but decided not to come to the relief of Cuautla as he was afraid that the capital would revolt in his absence . The battle took almost a week and has been described as " six of the most terrible days of battle in the whole Revolution " . Zapata began the attack on Cuautla on May 13 with 4000 troops against 400 elite soldiers of the so @-@ called " Golden Fifth " ; the Fifth Cavalry Regiment of the Federal Army . |
The successful capture of Cuautla made Zapata a hero to ordinary people throughout Mexico and new corridos were written about him . After Zapata 's taking of Cuautla , the federal government controlled only five states and some urban areas . Porfirio Díaz himself later stated that , while he felt that he could defend against Villa and Orozco in Chihuahua , the fall of Cuautla was the event which persuaded him to agree to peace with Madero . |
= = The compromise = = |
Limantour proposed an end to the hostilities and offered an amnesty for all revolutionaries , the resignation of the then vice president Ramón Corral , the replacement of four Díaz cabinet ministers and ten state governors by ones chosen by Madero , and the establishment of the principle of " no @-@ reelection " which would prevent Díaz from seeking yet another term as president ( which would have been his ninth ) . Madero responded positively although he also stated that any kind of peace deal had to include an immediate resignation by Díaz . As early as March 1911 , Madero 's representatives met in New York with Díaz 's finance minister , José Yves Limantour , and the Mexican ambassador to the US in order to discuss the possibility of peace between the two sides . |
Faced with the siege of Ciudad Juárez and the outbreak of rebellion in Morelos , Díaz and members of his cabinet became more willing to negotiate and launched a " skillful peace offensive " aimed at Madero . This was largely a result of panic among the large landowners associated with the Díaz regime ( the hacendados ) and the financial elite , which represented a " moderate " wing within the government . Some among the Porfiristas in fact , expected that Zapata would soon march on Mexico City itself , unless peace was concluded with Madero . |
In addition to his fear of " anarchy " , Estañol was also worried that the social revolution would lead to a military intervention by the United States . Estañol recommended coming to terms with the first group of revolutionaries , by agreeing to the principle of no re @-@ election and a general amnesty , in order to prevent the second group from succeeding . The moderate view within the Díaz government was represented by Jorge Vera Estañol who in a memo to the minister of foreign affairs wrote that there were two revolutions taking place in Mexico : a political revolution , based mostly in the north , whose aim was mostly to establish free elections and remove Díaz himself from power , and a social revolution whose aim was " anarchy " which was spreading throughout the Mexican countryside . |
Limantour , who broadly agreed with Estañol , had the support of the Mexican financiers , who feared the downgrading of Mexican international credit and a general economic crisis as a result of ongoing social unrest , as well as that of the large landowners who were willing to come to terms with Madero if it would put an end to the agrarian uprisings . Estañol 's views represented those of the portion of the upper class which was willing to come to terms with at least a portion of the middle class in order to crush the peasant uprisings , as exemplified by those of Zapata , which were erupting throughout Mexico . |
Limantour had finally managed to persuade him to resign . In the end however , Díaz dismissed the advice from his generals as " Custer @-@ like bluster " and chose to seek peace with the moderate wing of the revolution . These social group were in turn opposed by the more reactionary elements within Díaz 's government , mostly concentrated in the federal army , who though that the rebels should be dealt with through brute force . Likewise , the general , and potential successor to Díaz , Bernardo Reyes stated in a letter to Limantour that " the repression ( against the insurrectionists ) should be carried out with the greates energy , punishing without any pity anyone participating in the armed struggle " . This faction was represented by General Victoriano Huerta , who would later carry out an attempted coup d 'état against Madero . |
At the same time there was also disagreement among the rebels . In the end their suspicions proved correct as the treaty that was eventually signed neglected issues of social and agrarian land reform that were central to their struggle . The " left wing " of the revolutionary movement , represented by Zapata and Orozco ( Villa for the time being tended to support Madero ) , warned against any possible compromises with Díaz . |
= = The treaty 's terms = = |
The most significant point of the treaty was that Porfirio Díaz , and his vice president , Ramón Corral , resign and that de la Barra , acting as interim president organize free elections as soon as possible . |
Additionally , the treaty stipulated that : |
An amnesty for all revolutionaries be declared , with the option for some of them to apply for membership in the rurales . |
The revolutionary forces were to be demobilized as soon as possible and the federal forces were to be the only army in Mexico . This was in order to appease the army , which had opposed a compromise with Madero . |
Madero and his supporters had the right to name fourteen provisional state governors , and to approve la Barra 's cabinet . |
Pensions were to be established for relatives of the soldiers who had died fighting the rebels . |
Policemen and judges , as well as state legislators , that had been appointed or " elected " under Díaz were to retain their offices . |
= = Implementation and results = = |
Madero entered Mexico City on June 7 . Díaz resigned accordingly on May 25 . The treaty was signed on May 21 . Francisco de la Barra became the interim president . |
In November 1911 , shortly after Madero 's inauguration , Zapata issued the famous Plan of Ayala , in which the Zapatistas denounced Madero and instead recognized Pascual Orozco as the rightful president and leader of the revolution . Additionally , the press in Mexico City , controlled by the landowners began referring to Zapata as a bandit and federal generals , such as Huerta , continued attacking his troops under the pretext that Zapata failed to demobilize in violation of the treaty . He was particularly angry that Madero did not plan on carrying out any kind of agrarian reform , or the breakup of large hacendias . Zapata however refused to recognize the interim government of de la Barra , and for the time being the fighting in Morelos continued . While initially Zapata trusted Madero , with time he became increasingly concerned that the goals of " his revolution " were not being fulfilled . Madero met with Zapata on several occasions during June . Sporadic fighting in southern Mexico continued . |
He chose mostly upper class Maderistas , including his wife for the post in the treasury . As a result of the treaty he was given the right to appoint members of the la Barra cabinet . Venustiano Carranza , who was going to become a major revolutionary in his own right and a future president of Mexico , stated that , after the treaty , Madero had " deliver ( ed ) to the reactionaries a dead revolution which will have to be fought over again " . He also maintained the existing federal system , by keeping the sitting judges of the Supreme Court , the legislators in federal and state assemblies and the bureaucrats of the various federal agencies . Madero also earned the great displeasure of other revolutionaries , including , Pascual Orozco . Díaz , after leaving for exile in France , observed that " Madero has unleashed a tiger , let us see if he can control him " . Madero 's first act after the treaty was signed was a gesture of reconciliation with the Díaz regime . |
When , in the aftermath of the Plan of Ayala , Madero ordered Orozco to lead federal troops to suppress Zapata , Orozco refused . In March 1912 , Orozco issued his Plan of Empacadora and formally declared himself in rebellion against Madero . Orozco , who saw himself as being instrumental in Madero 's victory over Díaz , was merely appointed as a commander of the rurales in Chihuahua , which increased his resentment . When he tried to run for governor of the state , Madero supported his opponent , Abraham González and eventually pressured Orozco to drop out of the race . |
= The Feast of the Goat =
|
The Feast of the Goat ( Spanish : La fiesta del chivo , 2000 ) is a novel by the Peruvian Nobel Prize in Literature laureate Mario Vargas Llosa . Throughout , there is also extensive reflection on the heyday of the dictatorship , in the 1950s , and its significance for the island and its inhabitants . The book is set in the Dominican Republic and portrays the assassination of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo , and its aftermath , from two distinct standpoints a generation apart : during and immediately after the assassination itself , in May 1961 ; and thirty five years later , in 1996 . |
The first concerns a woman , Urania Cabral , who is back in the Dominican Republic , after a long absence , to visit her ailing father ; she ends up recalling incidents from her youth and recounting a long @-@ held secret to her aunt and cousins . The novel follows three interwoven storylines . Each aspect of the book 's plot reveals a different viewpoint on the Dominican Republic 's political and social environment , past and present . The third strand depicts Trujillo 's assassins , many of whom had previously been government loyalists , as they wait for his car late that night ; after the assassination , this story line shows us the assassins ' persecution . The second story line focuses on the last day in Trujillo 's life from the moment he wakes up onwards , and shows us the regime 's inner circle , to which Urania 's father once belonged . |
Readers are shown the regime 's downward spiral , Trujillo 's assassination , and its aftermath through the eyes of insiders , conspirators , and a middle @-@ aged woman looking back . The novel 's themes include the nature of power and corruption , and their relationship to machismo and sexual perversion in a rigidly hierarchical society with strongly gendered roles . Her story ( and the book as a whole ) ends when she recounts the terrible events that led to her leaving the country at the age of 14 . The book itself serves as a reminder of the atrocities of dictatorship , to ensure that the dangers of absolute power will be remembered by a new generation . The novel is therefore a kaleidoscopic portrait of dictatorial power , including its psychological effects , and its long @-@ term impact . Memory , and the process of remembering , is also an important theme , especially in Urania 's narrative as she recalls her youth in the Dominican Republic . |
[ . In Vargas Llosa 's words , " It 's a novel , not a history book , so I took many , many liberties . I have respected the basic facts , but I have changed and deformed many things in order to make the story more persuasive — and I have not exaggerated . " Vargas Llosa interlaces fictional elements and historical events : the book is not a documentary , and the Cabral family , for instance , is completely fictional . On the other hand , the characters of Trujillo and Trujillo 's assassins are drawn from the historical record ; Vargas Llosa weaves real historical incidents of brutality and oppression into these people 's stories , to further illuminate the nature of the regime and the responses it provoked . . . ] |
The Feast of the Goat received largely positive reviews , with several reviewers commenting on the book 's depiction of the relationship between sexuality and power , and on the graphic descriptions of violent events . |
A film version of the novel was released in 2005 , starring Isabella Rossellini , Paul Freeman , and Tomas Milian . Jorge Alí Triana and his daughter Veronica Triana wrote a theatrical adaptation in 2003 . |
= = Background = = |
The Feast of the Goat is only the second of Vargas Llosa 's novels to be set outside Peru ( the first being The War of the End of the World ) . It is also unusual because it is the first to have a female protagonist : as critic Lynn Walford writes of the leading character in The Feast of the Goat , and also Vargas Llosa 's subsequent book The Way to Paradise , " both are utterly unlike any of the other female characters in his previous novels " . |
The novel examines the dictatorial regime of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina in the Dominican Republic . Trujillo was , in historian Eric Roorda 's words , " a towering influence in Dominican and Caribbean history " who presided over " one of the most durable regimes of the twentieth century " during the thirty @-@ one years between his seizure of power in 1930 and his assassination in 1961 . After the U.S. departed in 1924 , he became head of the Dominican National Police which , under his command , was transformed into the Dominican National Army and Trujillo 's personal " virtually autonomous power base " . Trujillo had trained with the United States Marine Corps during the United States occupation of the island , and graduated from the Haina Military Academy in 1921 . |
Trujillo was officially dictator only from 1930 to 1938 , and from 1942 to 1952 , but remained in effective power throughout the entire period . Though his regime was broadly nationalist , Daniel Chirot comments that he had " no particular ideology " and that his economic and social policies were basically progressive . |
Vargas Llosa quotes the lyrics to Mataron al chivo at the beginning of the novel . Merengue is a style of music created by Ñico Lora in the 1920s and actively promoted by Trujillo himself ; it is now considered the country 's national music . The novel 's title is taken from the popular Dominican merengue Mataron al chivo ( " They Killed the Goat " ) , which refers to Trujillo 's assassination on May 30 , 1961 . Cultural critics Julie Sellers and Stephen Ropp comment about this particular merengue that , by envisaging the dictator as an animal who could be turned into a stew ( as frequently happened with goats struck down on the Dominican Republic 's highways ) , the song " gave those performing , listening to and dancing to this merengue a sense of control over him and over themselves that they had not experienced for over three decades . " |
= = Plot summary = = |
One is centred on Urania Cabral , a fictional Dominican character ; another deals with the conspirators involved in Trujillo 's assassination ; and the third focuses on Trujillo himself . The novel alternates between these storylines , and also jumps back and forth from 1961 to 1996 , with frequent flashbacks to periods earlier in Trujillo 's regime . The novel 's narrative is divided into three distinct strands . |
As Urania speaks to her ailing father , Agustin Cabral , she recalls more and more of the anger and disgust that led to her thirty @-@ five years of silence . Urania escaped the crumbling Trujillo regime in 1961 by claiming she planned to study under the tutelage of nuns in Michigan . The Feast of the Goat begins with the return of Urania to her hometown of Santo Domingo , a city which had been renamed Ciudad Trujillo during Trujillo 's time in power . In the following decades , she becomes a prominent and successful New York lawyer . Urania retells her father 's descent into political disgrace , and the betrayal that forms the crux of both Urania 's storyline and that of Trujillo himself . She finally returns to the Dominican Republic in 1996 , on a whim , and finds herself compelled to confront her father and elements of her past she has long ignored . This storyline is largely introspective and deals with Urania 's memories and her inner turmoil over the events preceding her departure from the Dominican Republic thirty @-@ five years earlier . |
Each assassin has his own background story , explaining his motivation for his involvement in the assassination plot . Each has been wronged by Trujillo and his regime , by torture and brutality , or through assaults on their pride , their religious faith , their morality , or their loved ones . Vargas Llosa weaves the tale of the men as memories recalled on the night of Trujillo 's death , as the conspirators lie in wait for " The Goat " . Interconnected with these stories are the actions of other famous Trujillistas of the time : Joaquín Balaguer , the puppet president ; Johnny Abbes García , the merciless head of the Military Intelligence Service ( SIM ) ; and various others — some real , some composites of historical figures , and some purely fictional . The second and third storylines are set in 1961 , in the weeks prior to and following Trujillo 's assassination on 30 May . |
In addition , it is the cause of Trujillo 's repeated anger over the " anemic little bitch " that witnessed his impotence and emotion , and the reason he is en route to sleep with another girl on the night of his assassination . The chapters concerning The Goat recall the major events of his time , including the slaughter of thousands of Dominican Haitians in 1937 . Vargas Llosa also speculates upon Trujillo 's innermost thoughts and paints a picture of a man whose physical body is failing him . They also deal with the Dominican Republic 's tense international relationships during the Cold War , especially with the United States under the presidency of John F. Kennedy , and Cuba under Castro . This event is the core of Urania 's shame , and her hatred towards her father . The third storyline is concerned with the thoughts and motives of Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina himself . Trujillo is tormented by incontinence and impotence ; and this storyline intersects with Urania 's narrative when it is revealed that Urania was sexually assaulted by Trujillo . He is unable to achieve an erection with Urania , and in frustration and anger he rapes her with his hands . |
The tone of these chapters is especially dark as they deal primarily with the horrific torture and death of the assassins at the hands of the SIM , the failure of the coup , the rape of Urania , and the concessions made to Trujillo 's most vicious supporters allowing them to enact their horrific revenge on the conspirators and then escape the country . The book ends as Urania prepares to return home , determined this time to keep in touch with her family back on the island . In the novel 's final chapters , the three storylines intersect with increasing frequency . |
= = Characters = = |
= = = Modern day = = = |
In the year 1996 , Urania returns to the Dominican Republic for the first time since her departure at the age of 14 . His responses are minimal and non @-@ vocal , despite the ardency of Urania 's accusations and the enormity of his own actions during Trujillo 's reign . She is a successful New York lawyer who has spent most of the past 35 years trying to overcome the traumas of her childhood , a goal she pursues through an academic fascination with Trujillo and Dominican history . Urania visits her father , finding him weakened by age and a severe stroke , so much so that he is barely able to respond physically to her presence , let alone speak . Urania Cabral and her father Agustín Cabral appear in both the modern day and historical portions of the novel . Agustín 's character in the modern day portion of the novel serves primarily as a sounding board for Urania 's recollections of the Trujillo era and the events that surrounded both Agustín Cabral 's disgrace and Urania 's escape from the country . Urania is deeply troubled by the events of her past , and is compelled to confront her father Agustín about his role in those events . Agustín listens helplessly as Urania recounts his past as " Egghead Cabral " , a high @-@ ranking member of Trujillo 's inner circle , and his drastic fall from grace . Urania details Agustín 's role in the events that led to her rape by the Dominican leader , and to her subsequent lifetime of celibacy and emotional trauma . |
= = = The Trujillo regime = = = |
Through fictional events and first person narrative , the reader is given insight into the man who , during his " thirty @-@ one years of horrendous political crimes " , modernized the country 's infrastructure and military , but whose regime 's attacks against its enemies overseas ( particularly the attempted assassination of Rómulo Betancourt , president of Venezuela ) led to the imposition of economic sanctions on the Dominican Republic by the Organization of American States in the 1950s . Rafael Trujillo , known also as The Goat , The Chief , and The Benefactor , is a fictionalized character based on the real dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961 and the official President of the Republic from 1930 to 1938 and 1943 to 1952 . In The Feast of the Goat , Vargas Llosa imagines the innermost thoughts of the dictator , and retells The Goat 's last hours from his own perspective . The resultant economic downturn , in conjunction with other factors , leads to the CIA supported assassination plot that ends Trujillo 's life on May 30 , 1961 . Trujillo 's character struggles with aging and the physical problems of incontinence and impotence . |
Trujillo 's son , Ramfis Trujillo , is a loyal supporter of the Chief . Abbes and his intelligence officers are notorious for their cruelty , particularly their habit of killing dissidents by throwing them into shark @-@ infested waters . After unsuccessful attempts at schooling in the United States , Ramfis returns to the Dominican Republic to serve in his father 's military . He is a well @-@ known womanizer . Trujillo 's regime is supported by Johnny Abbes García , the head of the Military Intelligence Service ( SIM ) , a brutal man to whom many " disappearances , ... executions , ... sudden falls into disgrace " are attributed . Upon Trujillo 's death , Ramfis seeks revenge , even going so far as to torture and kill his uncle by marriage , General Jose Roman , for his part in the assassination conspiracy . Colonel Abbes " may be the devil , but he 's useful to the Chief ; everything bad is attributed to him and only the good to Trujillo " . |
Following Trujillo 's death , the calm and serenity of Balaguer bring about real change in his character , and General Román comments that " this insignificant man whom everyone had always considered a mere clerk , a purely decorative figure in the regime , began to acquire surprising authority " . It is Balaguer who guides much of the action in the last sections of the book . Joaquín Balaguer , Trujillo 's puppet president is also a supporter , and initially his seemingly innocuous character holds no real power . |
= = = Conspirators = = = |
Antonio 's brother is killed as part of a government cover @-@ up and Antonio swears revenge upon Trujillo . Salvador Estrella Sadhalá , known as " Turk " , is a devout Catholic who , in indignation at the regime 's many crimes against God , swears an oath against Trujillo . Turk 's close friend , Amado García Guerrero , known as Amadito , is a Lieutenant in the army who gave up his beloved as proof of his loyalty to Trujillo , and then later was forced to kill her brother to prove himself to Trujillo . Antonio Imbert Barrera is one of the few conspirators who survives the violent reprisals that follow Trujillo 's assassination . Now convinced of the difficulty of his task , Imbert joins the other conspirators in plotting Trujillo 's death . His father remains loyal to Trujillo and disowns Turk to his face . Despite all of this , Turk refuses to commit suicide and does not lose faith in God . Amadito 's disgust with himself and disillusionment with the regime lead to his decision to help to kill Trujillo . Both Turk and his innocent brother are then tortured for months . Following the assassination he hides out with de la Maza and dies fighting . In the aftermath of the assassination , Amadito and Antonio de la Maza choose to fight the members of SIM who come to arrest them , opting to die in battle rather than be captured and tortured . Turk eventually turns himself in for fear that the regime was torturing his family . Imbert is a politician who becomes disillusioned with the deception and cruelty of the Trujillo regime . He is later executed by Ramfis and other high level government men . The storyline concerning the assassination primarily follows the four conspirators who directly participate in Trujillo 's death . Among the others is Antonio de la Maza , one of Trujillo 's personal guards . His first plan to kill Trujillo was foiled by the unsuccessful attempted overthrow of the regime by Cuban paramilitary forces . |
= = Major themes = = |