Mirabal de Guzmán, María Teresa (1936–1960)

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Mirabal de Guzmán, María Teresa (1936–1960)

Dominican political activist and one of the Mirabal sisters. Name variations: Las Mariposas (The Butterflies); Maria Teresa Mirabal; (nickname) Maté. Born María Teresa Mirabal on Oct 15, 1936; assassinated by command of Trujillo, dictator of the Dominican Republic, Nov 25, 1960; dau. of Enrique Mirabal and Mercedes Mirabal; had sisters Minerva, Patria, and Dedé; married.

Joined the anti-Trujillo underground forces; having been involved with the failed revolt of June 1959, husband was arrested and imprisoned; along with sisters, was known within the underground Movimiento Revolucionario 14 de Junio (MR14J) by the code name of Mariposa (butterfly) and soon became known to agents of Trujillo's secret police; arrested, subjected to torture, and killed.

See also Julia Alvarez, In the Time of the Butterflies (1994); and Women in World History.