Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader has declared January 8, 2025, as a day of official mourning in honor of Miguel Ángel Bissié Romero, the last surviving participant in the 1961 assassination of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. The decree also mandates military honors and the lowering of the national flag to half-mast at military and public institutions nationwide.
Bissié Romero, a Spanish-born Dominican citizen, played a pivotal role in planning and executing the operation that ended Trujillo’s dictatorship. As a teacher at the Salesian Technical School, he founded a blacksmith workshop, “Los Navarro,” which secretly stored weapons used in the mission. His bravery led to imprisonment and torture by Trujillo’s regime. In 1962, he officially became a Dominican citizen, earning recognition for his contributions to freedom and democracy.
Bissié Romero passed away on January 4, 2025, at age 90. A recipient of the prestigious Order of Merit of Duarte, Sánchez, and Mella in 2011, he remains a symbol of courage and patriotism in the Dominican Republic. The government’s tribute underscores his lasting impact on the nation’s fight for democracy and human rights.