Arias, Desiderio (1872–1931)

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Arias, Desiderio (1872–1931)

Desiderio Arias (b. 1872; d. 1931), military figure, politician, and president of the Dominican Republic (17 May 1916–June 1916). Born in Muñoz, Dominican Republic, Arias emerged as a key leader in the Liberal guerrilla movement led by Juan I. Jiménez in the 1910s. Assigned to the post of minister of war and the navy after Jiménez's election, General Arias consolidated his own power and moved against the president in a coup d'état in 1916.

Arias's coup and the civil disorder that followed provoked the United States to intervene, and Arias retired to private life under the watchful eye of the United States. Until the end of his life, Desiderio Arias played a role in his nation's political life as a symbol of the Liberal guerrillas. He died in a rebellion against President Rafael Trujillo Molina.

See alsoDominican Republic .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Sumner Welles, Naboth's Vineyard (1966).

Additional Bibliography

Herrera Rodríguez, Rafael Darío. Revueltas y caudillismo: Desiderio Arias frente a Trujillo. Dominican Republic: Impresos Paulinos, 2002.

Lobetty Gómez de Morel, Olga. Desiderio Arias: El cacique liniero. Dominican Republic: Editora Centenario, 1996.

                                 Todd Little-Siebold