José Joaquín Puello

José Joaquín Puello
Portrait of General José Joaquín Puello, c. 1845
Born1805
Died23 December 1847
(aged 42)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Cause of deathExecution by firing squad
Allegiance Dominican Republic
Branch Haitian Army
  • 31st and 32nd Regiment

 Dominican Army

  • Liberation Army
Service years1834–1847
RankGeneral
ConflictsDominican War of Independence
RelationsEusebio Puello (brother)
Gabino Puello (brother)

José Joaquín Puello de Castro (1805 – 23 December 1847) was a Dominican revolutionary and government minister who stood out as a key leader in the Dominican War of Independence.

His participation in the proclamation of Independence on 27 February 1844, marks him as the officer who managed the black battalion that was camped on the left bank of the Ozama River on the eve of the assault on the Puerta del Conde, deciding its adhesion to the movement. Detached on the southern border, he stopped the advance of the Haitian troops in the Battle of Estrelleta, on 17 September 1845. Since then he served Pedro Santana as Minister of the Interior and Police for two years, and later as Minister of Finance.

Politicians who accused Juan Pablo Duarte of being a traitor to the country and exiled him, hatched the plot against Puello, instigated by the French consul, Eustache Juchereau de Saint Denys, inventing a conspiracy headed by him. Santana, upon learning of the accusation, decided to punish him, making him a prisoner in Santana's home. By article 210 of the Constitution of 1844, he was brought to trial in December 1847, in which he was sentenced to death along with other relatives. Puello was executed on 23 December 1847.