Key points
- 01 Minerva Mirabal co-founded the 14th of June Movement with Manolo Tavárez Justo to resist Trujillo.
- 02 On 25 November 1960, the three sisters were intercepted, tortured and killed by regime agents.
- 03 Their assassination triggered the fall of Trujillo. The UN now marks 25 November as the International Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women.
TRUJILLO'S IRON GRIP ON THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
From 1930 to 1961, Rafael Trujillo ran one of the Caribbean's most brutal dictatorships, using surveillance, torture and mass killings to silence all opposition. Any dissent was met with imprisonment or death. The Mirabal sisters defied this system at the cost of their lives.
THREE SISTERS, ONE FIGHT
Patria, Minerva and María Teresa Mirabal grew up in Ojo de Agua, Dominican Republic. Minerva, a trained lawyer barred from practising, became the driving force. She brought her sisters into active resistance against the Trujillo regime in the late 1950s.
DEFIANCE BEFORE THE DICTATOR
In October 1949, at a reception in San Cristóbal, Minerva publicly rejected Trujillo's advances. Her family was arrested and placed under pressure. The act of refusal became a defining moment, marking the sisters as enemies of the regime from that point forward.
LAS MARIPOSAS AND THE MOVEMENT
In 1960, Minerva and Manolo Tavárez co-founded the 14th of June Movement. The three sisters recruited members, transported weapons, produced explosives and distributed leaflets. Known by the code name "Las Mariposas" (the butterflies), they coordinated resistance cells across the country.
MURDER THAT TOPPLED A TYRANT
On November 25, 1960, after visiting their imprisoned husbands, the three sisters were intercepted, tortured and killed by regime agents. Their assassination sparked national outrage. Trujillo was killed six months later. In 1999, the UN designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
« If they kill me, I will reach out my arms from the grave and I will be stronger. »
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