United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916-1924)

United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916-1924). Hillsborough County Veterans Memorial Park. , The United States occupation of the Dominican Republic occurred from 1916 to 1924. It was one of the many interventions in Latin America undertaken by American military forces. On May 13 1916, [1] Rear Admiral William B. Caperton forced the Dominican Republic's Secretary of War Desiderio Arias, who had seized power from Juan Isidro Jimenes Pereyra, to leave Santo Domingo by threatening the city with naval bombardment. , , Three days after Arias left the country, United States Marines landed and took control of the country within two months, and in November the United States imposed a military government under Rear Admiral Harry Shepard Knapp. The marines restored order throughout most of the republic, with the exception of the eastern region; the country's budget was balanced, its debt was diminished, and economic growth resumed; infrastructure projects produced new roads that linked all the country's regions for the first time in its history; a professional military organization, the Dominican Constabulary Guard, replaced the partisan forces that had waged a seemingly endless struggle for power. , , In the presidential election of March 15, 1924, Floracio Vasquez Lajara, an American ally who cooperated with the United States government, handily defeated Peynado. Vásquez's Alliance Party (Partido, Alianza) also won a comfortable majority in both houses of Congress. With his inauguration on July 13, control of the republic returned to Dominican hands. , , Despite the withdrawal, there were still concerns regarding the collection and application of the country's custom revenues. To address this problem, representatives of the United States and the Dominican Republic governments met at a convention and signed a treaty, on December 27, 1924, which gave the United States control over the country's custom revenues. In 1941, the treaty was officially repealed and control over the country's custom revenues was again returned to Dominican Republic government. However this treaty created lasting resentment of the United States among the people of the Dominican Republic. One major consequence that resulted from the occupation was the rise of Rafael Trujillo. Trujillo had received a commission as a second lieutenant in the US-created national guard in early 1919. Trujillo, a onetime thief, forger and pimp, received high marks from US military officers and eventually became the country's army chief of staff in 1928. Through the rigged election of 1930, Trujillo became the country's president. Though the US State Department saw Trujillo as a "a kind Frankenstein, brought to life by the US marines" and likely to spawn new insurrections the U.S. government warmed to him when his strong-arm tactics obviated the need for military intervention. Thanks to the beneficent US control of the country's customs, Trujilo could divert funds to his army for suppression of domestic dissent. . This historical marker was erected by Hillsborough County. It is in East Lake-Orient Park in Hillsborough County Florida