Dude, you work for the guy who assassinated Trujillo? Cool!

There's one road that runs along the north coast of the Dominican Republic. If you're going from Puerto Plata to Cabarete you have to use this road and you have to pass through Sosua. There's a police station on the side of the road in Sosua. This is where my dad was stopped and issued a ticket for not wearing his seat belt. Apparently there are so few problems in the Dominican Republic the police feel that they should work on the important issues, like seat belt usage. It might be interesting to note that the ticket didn't specify the cost of the fine. Everything is negotiable, right? We took the ticket and continued on our way to my uncle Bob's vet clinic, wearing our seat belts, of course. When we got there, a guy pulled in and talked to my dad, explaining how he had seen us being issued a ticket and wanted to take care of it for us.

So this guy apparently works for Antonio Imbert Barrera, famous for helping in the assassination of Trujillo in May 1961. Now the facts are fuzzy since different sources report different chains of events. Some say the CIA was behind it, but Barrera swore that "los gingos" didn't have anything to do with it. Barrera was driving the getaway car and some reports even credit him with the kill shot. Whatever the case may be, he was considered a national hero, was awarded the general grade Advitam, and became president in May of 1965 (his presidency only lasted 3 months, though). He's the only guy involved in the Trujillo assassination still alive. All others were either killed on the day of the assassination or murdered later on. According to the guy we met who says he works for him (he had a picture of Barrera on his cell phone. That's proof of employee-ship, right?!), Barrera is 95 years old and currently calls Santo Domingo his home.

The man himself.

Are you sure you want me behind the wheel? I mean, Luis Amiama Tio is such a better driver.

This is the car Barrera drove. Apparently it's in a museum near Santiago and you are allowed to sit in it and pretend you're driving. That's a great way to preserve an historic item.