The latest invasion of the Dominican Republic by the U.S.A. is only one more episode in a history of aggressive activities which started in 1904. In that year, U.S. warships intruded into Dominican territorial waters under the pretext of demanding the payment of debts. In January, 1905, U.S. President "Teddie"' Roosevelt imposed a protocol on the Dominican Republic, under which the United States had the right to control the cus toms of the country and to collect customs duty. This was followed by heavy U.S. investment in the countrys
After an uprising in April, 1916, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sent in troops. By May of that year, the whole country was occupied and a U.S. military Government established. This occupation was marked by severe repression and thousands of Dominicans were imprisoned, tortured and killed. During the occupation, the Morgan Group opened a bank in the Dominican Republic to control its finance; it also established two sugar companies: the American Sugar Company and the West Indian Sugar Company. These companies established large-scale sugarcane plantations by driving the Dominican peasants off their land.
This occupation was resisted by the Dominicans until in 1921 the U.S.A. announced that it would withdraw its troops on. the condition that it retained the right of control over the finance and customs of the country. However, U.S. troops were not withdrawn until they had installed a stooges Horacio Vasquez. As is the custom, in the 'banana' republics he was overthrown by one Rafael Estrella Urena in 1930. But he, too, was overthrown by a U.S.-backed 'strongman': Rafael Trujillo. The latter's 30 years' rule over the republic is much written about but it is important to note that the U.S. sought to back him up even at the end of his rule when he was most discredited. Thus in January, 1959, in face of mounting opposition to Trujillo, 2,000 U.S. marines landed for an ‘informal visit'. Again, in February, 1960, 4,000 U.S. marines landed in Santo Domingo "on vacation", When Trujillo was assassinated in May, 1961, forty U.S. warships sailed to the Dominican Republic to prevent "disorders",
After Trujillo a sucession of coups took place and the hand of the U.S. was never absent. In November, 1961, large-scale anti-U.S. demonstrations, together with a general strike, broke out. 12 U.S. warships set sail for the country and 1,800 Marines were kept ready to land in helicopters. When Juan Bosch became President in December, 1962, after elections in which his party won 62% of the poll, his relations with the U.S. were comparitively closee However, relations deteriorated when he let it be known that he wanted to work out his own policies and not be a stooge for Washington, His first 'crime' was to ask the Dominican Parliament to ratify his assumption of the office of Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, This was so he could establish control over the army units which had come under U.S. domination. He then carried out a number of mild reforms which favoured local industry and business against U.S. monopolies. He was accused of being “soft on communism" because he allowed an element of political freedom,
The role played by the C.I.A. in his overthrow in September, 1963, was exposed by the former Dominican Ambassedor to the United States: Del Rosario. After listening to what Del Rosario had to say, Senator Wayne Morse saids "If only 10% of what Ambassador Del Rosario told us was factual, we cannot justify American policy in the Dominican Republic."