The Frontier of Loyalty: Political Exiles in the Age of the Nation-State

Assassinations and Kidnappings of Key Leaders

Counterexile Strategies 157 regime but persecuted them all the same. In 1961, during the Algerian war, Franco made military assistance to the French government conditional upon cancellation of the exiled Republicans' diplomatic credentials and the eviction of the Spanish government-in-exile from its Paris headquarters. As before, the French complied,65 Rafael TIujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic for more than a quarter of a centur~ gaining a reputation for arbitrary "nonideological " terror and violation of human rights at home, mercilessly hounded his opponents abroad. He terrorized exiles' relatives who were still living in the Dominican Republic and employed physical violence and propaganda, as well as diplomatic measures, to suppress exile activities abroad. In the international sphere, he pressed Venezuela and Guatemala to renounce their support of anti-TIujillo exiles based in Cuba. He denounced the Cuban government for violation of treaty obligations to block subversive activities within its borders against a sister republic. In July 1947, Trujillo even threatened Cuba with war. As a devoted ally of the United States, he called upon the Americans to order the Cuban government of Ramon Grau San Martin to cease support for the Dominican exile "liberation army" in Cuba. He condemned the exiled Dominican Revolutionary Party JPRD) as "mercenaries" bringing communism to the Caribbean and, through pressure on the U.S. government, kept Cuba from helping Dominican exiles formulate and execute plans for invasion.66 In a more recent case, on August 13, 1984, King Hassan II of Morocco signed a treaty of union with Libya after years of bitter and violent relations between the two countries. Muammar al-Qaddafi's conciliatory policies toward Hassan were conditioned on the king's willingness to turn over exile leaders and members of the National Front of the Salvation of Libya jNFSL) who had operated since 1980 to overthrow his regime. The Moroccans subsequently handed over several members of the NFSL to the Libyan authorities, presumably to be executed.67 Assassinations and Kidnappings of Key Leaders In this century, assassination and kidnapping of key leaders, ideologues , and front-line activists in exile have gradually been adopted by despotic regimes as a key strategy for suppressing exile groups. Political exiles who use modem communications to provoke the overthrow of their home regime from abroad can operate beyond the reach of the regime and therefore pose a serious threat. As a consequence, many secret police forces maintain agents in their foreign embassies. Counterexile Strategies 157 regime but persecuted them all the same. In 1961, during the Algerian war, Franco made military assistance to the French government conditional upon cancellation of the exiled Republicans' diplomatic credentials and the eviction of the Spanish government-in-exile from its Paris headquarters. As before, the French complied.65 Rafael TIujillo, who ruled the Dominican Republic for more than a quarter of a century, gaining a reputation for arbitrary "nonideological " terror and violation of human rights at home, mercilessly hounded his opponents abroad. He terrorized exiles' relatives who were still living in the Dominican Republic and employed physical violence and propaganda, as well as diplomatic measures, to suppress exile activities abroad. In the international sphere, he pressed Venezuela and Guatemala to renounce their support of anti-Trujillo exiles based in Cuba. He denounced the Cuban government for violation of treaty obligations to block subversive activities within its borders against a sister republic. In July 1947, Trujillo even threatened Cuba with war. As a devoted ally of the United States, he called upon the Americans to order the Cuban government of Ramon Grau San Martin to cease support for the Dominican exile "liberation army" in Cuba. He condemned the exiled Dominican Revolutionary Party (PRD) as "mercenaries" bringing communism to the Caribbean and, through pressure on the U.S. government, kept Cuba from helping Dominican exiles formulate and execute plans for invasion.66 In a more recent case, on August 13, 1984, King Hassan II of Morocco signed a treaty of union with Libya after years of bitter and violent relations between the two countries. Muammar al-Qaddafi's conciliatory policies toward Hassan were conditioned on the king's willingness to tum over exile leaders and members of the National Front of the Salvation of Libya (NFSL) who had operated since 1980 to overthrow his regime. The Moroccans subsequently handed over several members of the NFSL to the Libyan authorities, presumably to be executed.67 Assassinations and Kidnappings of Key Leaders In this century, assassination and kidnapping of key leaders, ideologues , and front...