 Trujillo, determined to expand his influence over all of Hispaniola, in October 1937 ordered the indiscriminate butchery by the Dominican army of an estimated 14,000 to 40,000 Haitians on the Dominican side of the Massacre River.Some observers claim that Trujillo supported an abortive coup attempt by young Garde officers in December 1937.Vincent dismissed Calixte as commander and sent him abroad, where he eventually accepted a commission in the Dominican military as a reward for his efforts while on Trujillo's payroll.