Background
Wessin was born in Bayaguana, Monte Plata Province, Dominican Republic, on July 22, 1924.
Wessin was born in Bayaguana, Monte Plata Province, Dominican Republic, on July 22, 1924.
Wessin led the military coup which ousted the government of Dominican President Juan Bosch in 1963, replacing it with a triumvirate. Wessin was also a key figure in the ensuing Dominican Civil War, which led to a United States military intervention into and occupation of the Dominican Republic in 1965. The family name in Lebanon as it is used today is spelled Wazen, a phonetic variant of the name in Lebanese Arabic
Wessin"s career in the Dominican Air Force began as a military pilot.
Wessin"s first intervention in Dominican politics as an air force officer began in 1961, following the assassination of President Rafael Trujillo, a dictator.
Wessin, who commanded an infantry battalion at the time of Trujillo"s assassination, helped Trujillo"s wife and family to flee the country. During the Revolution, Wessin refused to abandon his post because he did not want the rebels, which he accused of being pro-communist, to take over the country.
Although many argue that that was propaganda and was used as an excuse. This was partly why the United States tended towards the loyalist (Wessin"s forces), and not towards Francisco Caamaño, who was acting in the behalf of Juan Bosch.
Wessin was allowed to return from exile in 1978 after the government issued a general amnesty.
Due to his support for Balaguer, Wessin served as the country"s Interior Minister and, later, as Secretary of the Armed Forces during Balaguer"s administrations. Wessin was featured on the cover of Time Magazine on May 7th 1965
Elías Wessin y Wessin died of a heart attack on April 18, 2009, in Santo Dominigo, Dominican Republic, at the age of 84.