Rafael Leónidas Trujillo is a cattle thief. In a confusing event, he meets Mariana Durán, his current wife, who saved him from death. Some time later, Rafael enters the army and forges a career of several years that leads him to the rank of general. From this position, he forges a coup against the dictator at the time, Eusebio Porras. After an interim period in the governing military junta, Trujillo took power after a suspicious Dominican election that had him winning over a lot of opponents (students and guerrillas).[5]