Operation Limpieza

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'''Operation Limpieza''' took place during the Dominican Civil War in May 1965. In order to soften up the rebel positions and to try to silence Radio Santo Domingo TV, the military junta sent its airplanes to bomb and strafe on May 14.<ref name=McFarland>Liquid error: wrong number of arguments (1 for 2)</ref> The bombing was ineffective, but one of the airplanes missed the rebel radio station and [[strafing|strafed]] U.S. Marines and junta troops. This convinced the U.S. government to ground the Dominican Air Force.<ref name=McFarland/> The military junta, although deprived of air cover for its troops, decided to launch Operation Limpieza (Cleanup).

On May 15, Operation Limpieza began when four junta tanks led over a thousand soldiers in an attack. The infantry was well equipped with mortars, bazookas, and 37 mm cannons, while the defending civilians were armed with nothing heavier than machine guns. The rebels inflicted heavy losses on the junta troops, and the offensive stalled by midday on May 16.<ref name=McFarland/> The arrival of twelve tanks from the Haitian border on May 18 finished turning the tide against the outgunned rebels. Operation Limpieza turned into bitter and savage fighting with wholesale destruction of many city blocks.<ref name=McFarland/> With victory in the northern sector almost within sight of junta troops, the officers indulged in social and ethnic cleansing in the northern neighborhoods. No prisoners were taken, and suspected rebels were promptly executed, while the number of atrocities committed against civilians multiplied. Many blacks lived in these poor neighborhoods, and junta troops slaughtered many as part of their Limpieza campaign.<ref name=McFarland/> Junta troops massacred up to 3,000 civilians.<ref></ref> In the morning of 19 May, junta troops finally captured Radio Santo Domingo.

==References==


[[Category:Conflicts in 1965]]
[[Category:1965 in the Dominican Republic]]

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