U.S. Troops in the Dominican Republic These U.S. paratroopers were among the 20,000 troops sent to the Dominican Republic in April and May 1965. The invasion restored peace but kept the popularly elected government of Juan Bosch from regaining office. Dominicans greeted the U.S. troops with anti-American slogans throughout the capital, Santo Domingo. Bosch himself said, “This was a democratic revolution smashed by the leading democracy in the world.” © Bettmann/Corbis.