DOMREP
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Department of Peacekeeping Operations | |
Expenses | $275,831 |
---|---|
Staff | 4 including upto to 2 military observers from Brazil, Canada and Ecuador. |
Website | https://peacekeeping.un.org/en/mission/domrep/ |
The Mission of the Representative of the Secretary-General in the Dominican Republic (DOMREP) was a peacekeeping operation established in 1965 by the UN to observe the ceasefire agreement between the two de facto authorities in the Dominican Republic during the Dominican Civil War.[1] DOMREP was instructed to report any breaches of the agreements between the Constitutionalists led by Juan Bosch and Francisco Caamaño, and Loyalists commanded by Elías Wessin y Wessin and backed by the United States.[1] Once the new Dominican constitutional government was formed, DOMREP withdrew.[1]
Following the outbreak of civil war three weeks prior in the country, and the subsequent intervention of the United States – under the codename
Background
Under Trujillo's rule
The Dominican Republic has been successively colonized by the
Elections & first coup
In 1962, long-time Dominican opposition leader,
Counter-coup & Civil War
By 1965, however, discontentment following failed reform at stabilizing the country led to a military counter-coup (headed by Francisco Caamaño) to removed the junta from power.[9] Loyalists towards Reid, led by General Elías Wessin y Wessin attempted a second counter-coup, beginning the Dominican Civil War. On the advice of the US ambassador to the Dominican Republic, William Tapley Bennett Jr.,[10] who urged that the U.S should act before an international coalition ever had the time to form, US President Lyndon B. Johnson organized Operation Power Pack, allowing the occupation of the country under the Organization of American States (OAS) by the mobilized Inter-American Peace Force
Operation
DOMREP was formed both to help broker the ceasefire between the Constitutionalists and Loyalists, as well as to act as a balance against US influence in the Republic under the
DOMREP was authorized on 14 May 1965, however, the UN lacked 'boots on the ground'. The UN Peacekeeping Mission had no real troops assigned to guarantee the ceasefire compliance, counting only with a small team of observers from Brazil, Canada, and Ecuador.[12] Instead, the UN gave the OAS responsibility of providing the military force. Country members of the OAS organized a task force of 12,400 US personnel and 1,763 soldiers from various Latin American countries.[3]
UN Security Council Resolutions 203 and 205 placed the country under Security Council observation, and requested the OAS to inform the UN of its actions within the Dominican Republic.[13][14] Venezuelan Executive Secretary José Antonio Mayobre acted as the representative of the UN Secretary-General, accompanied by the Indian Major-General Indar Jit Rikhye as a military advisor.[15] The mission faced early criticism. Dominican Foreign Minister Horacio Vicioso Soto complained that DOMREP did not allow the Dominican Republic police to act in a sovereign manner in the conflict zone, bringing criticism of UN and OAS violation of the Dominican Republic's status as an independent state.[1]
DOMREP involvement came to an end following the signing of the Act of Dominican Reconciliation on 31 August 1965, led by the OAS. The act agreed on free elections throughout the country to end the conflict. The elections saw the victory of President Joaquín Balaguer against Bosch. The last troops of both the OAS-led IAPF and UN-led DOMREP withdrew on 21 September 1966.[2]
Personnel in action
Country[3] | Number of Soldiers | Special Represesentative |
---|---|---|
United States | 12,400 | Lieutenant-General Bruce Palmer Jr. |
Brazil | 1.152 | General Hugo Panasco Alvim |
Honduras | 250 | |
Paraguay | 178 | |
Nicaragua | 159 | |
Costa Rica | 21 Military police | |
El Salvador | 3 Officers |
Reactions
The United States had presented their mission as