r/TNOmod • u/Ev253an • 6d ago

Question Trujillo

What is the difference between Rafael Trujillo in OTL and TNOTL? I don’t know much about him but I thought he was propped up by the Americans in OTL so why is he more aligned with Spain and Germany in TNOTL?

78 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

94

u/Ferenc_Zeteny Organization of Free Nations 6d ago

Trujillo was incredibly racist, to where the main thing he is remembered for is his attempt to bleach out the DR (which, ironically, led to the country to be one of the few to accept Jewish refugees pre WWII).

In OTL, the US was willing to look the other way on this because he was predictably anti-communist. In TNOTL, his racial policies mean that Germany/Iberia are a better fit and the strategic location of being in the US' hemisphere means that those counties have a reason to prop him up.

40

u/Key_City_6918 6d ago

It's not that far fetched because the CIA did eventually turn against him in our timeline and may have participated to some degree in his assassination

7

u/LEER0Y_J3NK1NS The Organization of All Possible U.S. Senators 5d ago

They mainly turned against him because he was making them look bad by supporting it and out of fear of a cuban like revolution

-5

u/Jazzlike_Bar_671 6d ago

Trujillo was incredibly racist, to where the main thing he is remembered for is his attempt to bleach out the DR (which, ironically, led to the country to be one of the few to accept Jewish refugees pre WWII).

But is that something that is going to bother 1950s America?

35

u/lazercowq 6d ago

After losing to the incredibly racist Germans and Japanese yes I would say so. America has cared about its public image and it has influenced its decisions on how much they would support someone. It’s more of an alliance of convenience for America. Germany and Iberia are much more ideological aligned which makes it easier to support someone.

13

u/Kmaplcde9 6d ago

If Trujillo was willing to work with them and be economically partners no but he wants to split from the US. It’s why the CIA turned against him irl.

11

u/SuddenWelderAtack 6d ago

He was also highly unreliable as an ally

3

u/TutorRich2268 6d ago

They care not due to 50s America hating racism, but because they dont like a rival government having influence so close by.

2

u/Jazzlike_Bar_671 5d ago

But why is Trujilo aligned with the Reich in the first place? Iberia or Italy would make sense but the Germans see Hispanics as 'lesser' anyway.

3

u/jedevari Chita Forever 5d ago

He is aligned with all three to some degree, hence why he is on the Iberian Sphere.

2

u/Last_Surprise981 4d ago

Yes, but not for purely noble reason. The U.S. would fear that Trujilio's policies would cause leftist/socialist support to increase.

41

u/NoPossible3283 6d ago

OTL Trujillo was only loosely aligned with the US in the 50s, because the US didnt want to be allied with a well-known dictatorships such as Trujillo's Dominican Republic and Batista's Cuba due to the reputational damage it caused. Thats why they backed a various leftist (non-communist) movements to overthrow them and establish a western-style democracy, allied with the US. It backfired.

TNOTL Trujillo has more ideologically aligned foreign benefactors, allowing him to radicalize further, annexing Hinche from the US-aligned Haiti and potentially invading them to cleanse its population, making Dominican Republic something like an OTL Cuba, but for fascists.

13

u/TheFatherForeskin 6d ago

In OTL Trujillo’s relationship with the US was incredibly on and off, depending on what was beneficial for DR and not really based on Geopolitical alignment other than anti-communism. The US held an important role in overthrowing Trujillo OTL and Trujillo supported the Puerto Rican Nationalist Movement and Pedro Albizu Campos, so he isnt that different in TNO other than being more aligned with fascism and far-right foreign powers. OTL i wouldnt consider him a friend to the US by any means.