The Parsley Massacre was the first instance in which the world realized that Rafael Trujillo was a ruthless dictator. Rafael Trujillo's 1937 massacre of Haitians was the first time he committed mass murder. This massacre killed more than 20,000 Haitians and also some Dominicans (“The Dominican Republic and the Parsley Massacre”). Even though Trujillo committed this treasonous act, he still defended himself by saying: "He who does not know how to deceive does not know how to govern" (1 "Rafael Trujillo"). It's crazy that even when he made his terror extremely public, he still tried to defend himself. The Parsley Massacre symbolized that the man who was supposed to lead and foster the Dominican Republic was actually ruining the country with one treasonous act at a time.