Editing Rafael Trujillo (section)

==Early life==
Rafael Leónidas Trujillo y Molina was born on 24 October 1891 in [[San Cristóbal, Dominican Republic]], into a lower-middle class family.<ref name=History>Rafael Trujillo. [Internet]. 2015. The History Channel website. Available from: http://www.history.com/topics/rafael-trujillo [Accessed 14 May 2015].</ref>

His father was José Trujillo Valdez, the son of Silveria Valdez Méndez of [[People of the Dominican Republic|colonial Dominican]] origin and José Trujillo Monagas, a [[Canary Islanders|Canary Islander]] sergeant who arrived in Santo Domingo as a member of the Spanish reinforcement troops during the [[Annexation of the Dominican Republic to Spain|annexation era]].
Trujillo's mother was Altagracia Julia Molina Chevalier, later known as ''Mamá Julia'', daughter of peasant Pedro Molina Peña, also of colonial Dominican origin, and teacher Luisa Erciná Chevalier, whose parents were of [[Saint-Domingue Creoles|creole Haitian]] origin.<ref name=IDG_1/><ref name=IDG_2/>

Chevalier, Trujillo's maternal grandmother, was the daughter of Justin Victor Turenne Carrié Blaise, who was of French descent, and Eleonore Juliette Chevallier Moreau, who was part of Haiti's mulatto class. From her mother's side, Chevalier was granddaughter of Louise Moreau and her husband Bernard Chevallier Louverture, a [[Mulatto Haitians|mulatto Haitian]] high-ranking officer and politician that established in San Cristóbal with the [[Haitian occupation of Santo Domingo|Haitian occupation]], from whom countless Dominican families descend, who was the son of [[French nobility|French nobleman]] Jean Baptiste Chevallier, Marquis de Pouilboreau and his wife Marie-Noëlle Louverture, the sister of [[Toussaint Louverture]], the [[Father of the Nation]] of [[Haiti]].<ref name=IDG_1>{{cite web |author=Antonio José Ignacio Guerra Sánchez |title=Trujillo: Descendiente de la Oligarquía Haitiana (1 de 2) |url=http://www.idg.org.do/capsulas/abril2008/abril200812.htm |access-date=1 May 2014 |date=12 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140321070253/http://www.idg.org.do/capsulas/abril2008/abril200812.htm |archive-date=21 March 2014 |publisher=Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía |location=Santo Domingo}}</ref><ref name=IDG_2>{{cite web |author=Antonio José Ignacio Guerra Sánchez |title=Trujillo, descendiente de oligarquía haitiana (2 de 2) |url=http://hoy.com.do/capsulas-genealogicastrujillo-descendientede-oligarquia-haitiana/ |access-date=1 May 2014 |work=Cápsulas Genealógicas |date=24 April 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501065841/http://hoy.com.do/capsulas-genealogicastrujillo-descendientede-oligarquia-haitiana/ |archive-date=1 May 2014 |editor=Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía |publisher=Hoy}}</ref> 

Trujillo was the third of eleven children;<ref name=History/><ref group=Note> his siblings were Virgilio Trujillo (24 July 1887 – 29 July 1967), Flérida Marina Trujillo (10 August 1888 – 13 February 1976), Rosa María Julieta Trujillo (5 April 1893 – 23 October 1980), José Arismendy "Petán" Trujillo (4 October 1895 – 6 May 1969), Amable Romero "Pipi" Trujillo (14 August 1896 – 19 September 1970), Luisa Nieves Trujillo (4 August 1899 – 25 January 1977), Julio Aníbal "Bonsito" Trujillo (16 October 1900 – 2 December 1948), Pedro Vetilio "Pedrito" Trujillo (27 January 1902 – 14 March 1981), Ofelia Japonesa Trujillo (26 May 1905 – 4 February 1978) and Héctor Bienvenido "Negro" Trujillo (6 April 1908 – 19 October 2002).</ref> he also had an adopted brother, Luis Rafael "Nene" Trujillo (1935–2005), who was raised in the home of Trujillo Molina.<ref name=IDG_1/>

In 1897, at the age of six, Trujillo was registered in the school of Juan Hilario Meriño. One year later, he transferred to the school of Pablo Barinas, where he was educated by disciples of [[Eugenio María de Hostos]] and remained there for the rest of his primary schooling. As a child, he was obsessed with his appearance and would place bottle caps on his clothes that mimicked military decorations. At the age of 16, Trujillo got a job as a telegraph operator, which he held for about three years. Shortly after Trujillo, aided by his brother José Arismendy ''Petán'', turned to petty crime: cattle rustling, check counterfeiting, and postal robbery. He spent several months in prison, which did not deter him, as he later formed a violent gang of robbers called ''The 42''.{{sfnp|Roorda|1998|p=48}}<ref name="Diederich p. 13">{{harvp|Diederich|1978|p=13}}</ref>{{sfnp|Roorda|1998|pp=21–22}}