Biography of Lieutenant Amado García Guerrero

Amado García Guerrero

He was born on June 2, 1931. He was a Dominican military man who played a crucial role in the assassination of the dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina. His bravery and determination made him one of the most remembered heroes in the contemporary history of the Dominican Republic.

Born in La Romana, García Guerrero entered the National Army, standing out for his discipline and commitment. His performance led him to be part of Trujillo’s Military Aide-de-Camp Corps, a position of trust close to the dictator. However, this closeness also allowed him to witness the atrocities and abuses of the regime, which sowed in him a deep disillusionment.

Various sources indicate that García Guerrero requested permission to marry his fiancée, Luisa Gil, but Trujillo denied it because Luisa’s brother, René Gil, was considered an opponent of the regime and had sought political asylum in a foreign embassy. Furthermore, it is claimed that he was forced to execute a prisoner who, he later discovered, was René Gil himself. These events deeply affected García Guerrero and led him to make the decision to join the conspiracy to eliminate the dictator.

On the night of May 30, 1961, García Guerrero provided key information about Trujillo’s movements, indicating that the dictator would travel without his usual escort towards San Cristóbal. Along with other conspirators, including Antonio de la Maza, Antonio Imbert Barrera and Salvador Estrella Sadhalá, they ambushed Trujillo’s vehicle on the highway and shot him.

Two days after the execution, on June 2, 1961, agents of the Military Intelligence Service (SIM) located García Guerrero in a family residence on San Martín Avenue, in Santo Domingo. After an armed confrontation, he was killed, tragically coinciding with the day of his 30th birthday.

His sacrifice is remembered as an act of bravery that contributed to the end of one of the longest and most repressive dictatorships in Latin America. In recognition of his heroism, in 2011, on the 50th anniversary of his death, he was subjected to a posthumous promotion to the rank of general.

The life and actions of García Guerrero have been portrayed in various works, highlighting the novel “The Feast of the Goat” by Mario Vargas Llosa, which, although fictional, is inspired by real events. In addition, in 2013 the Dominican film “Lieutenant Amado“, directed by Félix Limardo and written by Huchi Lora, which dramatizes his participation in the plot against Trujillo, was released.