Dominican Civil War

Dominican Civil War
Part of the Cold War
American soldiers engaged in a firefight while a child takes cover under a jeep for protection in Santo Domingo on May 5, 1965.
Date 24 April 1965 – 3 September 1965[1] (4 months, 1 week and 3 days) Location Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic[1] Result Loyalist victory Ceasefire declared Formation of the provisional government for new elections Deposition of Juan Bosch of the presidency Organization of presidential elections in 1966 under international supervision Election of Joaquín Balaguer as the new president
Belligerents
Loyalist faction  United States IAPF  Brazil  Paraguay  Nicaragua  Costa Rica  El Salvador  Honduras[1]	Constitutionalist faction Dominican Revolutionary Party Social Christian Revolutionary Party June 14th Revolutionary Movement [es]
Commanders and leaders
Elías Wessin y Wessin Antonio Imbert Barrera Lyndon B. Johnson Bruce Palmer[1]	Juan Bosch Francisco Caamaño[1]
Strength
Loyalists: 2,200 regulars 12 AMX-13 light tanks 24 L-60 light tanks 13 Lynx armoured cars 1 frigate 4+ fighters United States: 6,924 Marines 12,434 82nd Airborne Unknown number of M48 Patton main battle tanks	Constitutionalists: 1,500 regulars 5,000 armed civilians 5+ light tanks
Casualties and losses
Dominican Republic: 500 regulars killed[2] 325 police killed[2] 5 light tanks captured 2 P-51 Mustang fighters shot down United States: 44 dead (9 Marines and 18 82nd Airborne killed)[3] 283 wounded or injured[4] 1 M50 Ontos damaged IAPF: 11 wounded	600 regulars killed[2] unknown armed civilians killed 5 light tanks destroyed 1 cargo ship damaged[5]
6,000 Dominican casualties and 350 U.S. casualties[2]
The Inter-American Peace Force (IAPF) was designed as a peacekeeping force and thus is not considered a war participant.

The Dominican Civil War (Spanish: Guerra Civil Dominicana), also known as the April Revolution (Spanish: Revolución de Abril), took place between April 24, 1965, and September 3, 1965, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It started when civilian and military supporters of the overthrown democratically elected president Juan Bosch ousted the militarily installed president Donald Reid Cabral from office. The second coup prompted General Elías Wessin y Wessin to organize elements of the military loyal to the dictator Reid ("loyalists"), initiating an armed campaign against the "constitutionalist" rebels.

Allegations of communist support for the rebels led to a United States invasion (codenamed Operation Power Pack),^[6] which later transformed into an Organization of American States occupation of the country by the Inter-American Peace Force. Although ostensibly neutral, U.S. civilian and military leaders deployed troops in a way that aided the anti-Bosch forces.^[7] Americans and Dominicans skirmished several times but fought only one battle, which occurred on June 15–16, 1965, in the Dominican-held Ciudad Nueva area of the city, where the 82nd Airborne Division lost 5 KIA, 31 WIA, and 3 DOW, while inflicting casualties of 67 KIA and 165 WIA on the Dominican forces. Elections were held in 1966, in the aftermath of which Joaquín Balaguer was elected. Later in the same year, foreign troops departed from the country. The conflict resulted in around 6,000 Dominican casualties and 350 U.S. casualties.^[2]