The story of Dr. Jesus Maria De Galindez and Gerald Lester Murphy two figures seemingly unrelated to each other but both part of what amounted to being a case of domestic terrorism. The story made headlines throughout 1956 and 1957. Below is an excerpt chronicle of events surrounding the case from the website The Charley Project:
De Galindez was a committed anti-fascist and Basque nationalist who ran afoul of dictator Francisco Franco’s regime in his native Spain during the 1930s. In 1939, he emigrated to the Dominican Republic as a refugee. There he became Secretary of the Dominican Minimum Wage Committee and legal adviser to the National Department of Labor, but he was fired after he expressed sympathy for striking workers.
De Galindez then moved to New York City, where he became one of the most active leaders against Generalissimo Rafael Leonidas Trujillo’s dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. While in New York, De Galindez taught political science at Columbia University while working towards his Ph.D. He wrote a political column that was syndicated in newspapers throughout Latin America, and also authored The Era of Trujillo, a book-length exposure of the brutality of Trujillo’s rule.
He feared for his life, as Trujillo’s agents had killed other activists on American soil and one of his own friends was killed in Manhattan in 1952. Two days after his friend’s murder, De Galindez wrote a letter stating if he were to be murdered or to vanish, Trujillo’s agents must be responsible. He left the letter in his personal files, to be opened in the event of his death or disappearance.
De Galindez was last seen on March 12, 1956. At 9:20 p.m., he finished teaching a class at Hamilton Hall on the Columbia University campus. He accepted a ride from one of his students, who dropped him off at the entrance to the subway at 7th Avenue and 57th Street.
De Galindez was last seen walking towards the subway, carrying his dark brown briefcase. He was reported missing five days later. All his clothing, personal belongings, money and papers were found in his apartment on Fifth Avenue. In June 1956, Columbia University awarded De Galindez his Ph.D. in absentia.
Life Magazine investigated De Galindez’s disappearance and revealed their findings in a 1957 article. The magazine stated De Galindez was abducted by Trujillo’s agents, drugged, put aboard a plane and flown to the city of Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic.
The pilots said to be involved in the kidnapping were Gerald Lester “Gerry” Murphy, an American from Eugene, Oregon, and Octavio Antonio de la Maza, a Dominican.
It was proven that Murphy flew out of Amityville, New York on the night of De Galindez’s disappearance in a rented twin-engine Beechcraft plane. He had installed extra fuel tanks on the aircraft, as if anticipating a long trip. He stopped in Miami, Florida in the early morning hours of March 13 and purchased additional fuel, then flew south again.
A few days later, Murphy returned to Miami, saying he had flown a wealthy invalid to the Dominican Republic. Not long afterward, he accepted a job as a pilot for a Dominican airline. The general manager initially refused to name him as captain because of his lack of experience, but Trujillo himself ordered the manager to make Murphy a co-pilot.
Murphy wrote to his relatives in America that he was making a lot of money; he seemed very happy. He became engaged to an American flight attendant and supposedly told her his “invalid” passenger in March had been De Galindez.
In November 1956, he stated he was coming home for good. He disappeared on December 4, however, before he could fly home. Murphy’s car was found parked on a cliff overlooking the ocean, but his body was never located.
Here is a documentary/report narrated by Edward R. Murrow for A CBS Radio Special Report “A Chronicle Of Terror” from May 20, 1957.
