"Cuando supe que habían caido las tres hermanas Mirabal me dije:
la sociedad establecida ha muerto."

"When I found out that the three Mirabal sisters had fallen I said to myself:
our established society has died."

first lines from Amen de Mariposas
Pedro Mir, Dominican national poet

In 1960, the Organization of American States condemned the actions of the Dominican government and sent representatives to observe the situation in the Dominican Republic. Because of this, many female prisoners were freed by Trujillo's government, including Minerva and Maria Teresa. Their husbands, however, remained in prison. They were held in La Victoria in Salcedo a few weeks; later Manolo and Pedro were transferred to the San Felipe jail in Puerto Plata while Leandro remained in La Victoria.