Tupamaros

2025-10-31T16:12:38Z

167.61.44.241:

{{Short description|Marxist–Leninist urban guerrilla group in Uruguay (1967–72)}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox militant organization
| name = Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement {{lang|es|Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros}}
| logo = Bandera dels Tupamaros.svg
| caption = Tupamaros – National Liberation Movement Flag
| dates = 1967–1972
| leader = [[Raúl Sendic]] [[Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro]] [[Héctor Amodio Pérez]] [[Henry Engler]] [[Mauricio Rosencof]]
| motives =
| area = [[Uruguay]]
| ideology = {{ubl|[[Communism]]|[[Marxism-Leninism]]|[[Guevarism]]|[[Foco|Foco theory]]|[[Left-wing nationalism]]|[[Revolutionary socialism]]<ref name=Guerrilla>{{cite book |last=Calderón |first=Fernando Herrera |date=2021-07-19 |title=Twentieth Century Guerrilla Movements in Latin America: A Primary Source History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AiAwEAAAQBAJ&q=Twentieth+Century+Guerrilla+Movements+in+Latin+America |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=180 |isbn=978-1317910312 |quote=In 1971, the Tupamaros published “The Revolutionary Program of the MLN-T,” which underlines the organization’s vision for socialist revolution. |access-date=2025-08-14}}</ref>}}
| position = [[Far-left politics|Far-left]]
| crimes =
| attacks =
| allies = {{flag|Cuba}} {{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_MIR_-_Chile.svg}} [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)|MIR]]
| opponents = {{flagicon image|Flag of Uruguay.svg}} [[Government of Uruguay]]
| status = Defunct
}}
{{History of Uruguay}}

The '''National Liberation Movement – Tupamaros''' ({{langx|es|Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros}}, '''MLN-T''') was a [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] [[urban guerrilla]] group that operated in [[Uruguay]] during the 1960s and 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-12-04 |title=Las aguas que agitó y dividió Fidel |url=https://www.elpais.com.uy/que-pasa/las-aguas-que-agito-y-dividio-fidel |access-date=2024-09-15 |website=EL PAIS |language=en}}</ref> It was responsible for numerous violent incidents involving [[Left-wing terrorism|left-wing terrorist activities]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tupamaros (1): el origen |url=https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/tupamaros-1-el-origen-2020101621310 |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=El Observador |language=es-UY}}</ref> In 1989, the group was admitted into the [[Broad Front (Uruguay)|Broad Front]] and a large number of its members joined the [[Movement of Popular Participation]] (MPP).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-25 |title=Jorge Zabalza, de nuestro archivo: El ex dirigente tupamaro reclama debate y revolución (octubre 2007) |url=https://enperspectiva.uy/home/jorge-zabalza-de-nuestro-archivo-reclama-debate-y-revolucion/ |access-date=2023-10-08 |website=Radiomundo En Perspectiva |language=es}}</ref>

Formed in the early 1960s, the MLN-T sought to create a [[revolutionary]] state through [[armed struggle]], taking inspiration from the [[Cuban Revolution|1953-59 Cuban Revolution]] led by [[Fidel Castro]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lessa |first=Alfonso |title=La revolución imposible: los Tupamaros y el fracaso de la vía armada en el Uruguay del siglo XX |publisher=Sudamericana |year=2017 |isbn=978-9974-881-33-4 |location=Montevideo |language=es}}</ref> However, unlike the latter, it conducted its operations in urban areas.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Demasi |first=Carlos |url=https://journals.openedition.org/atlante/11272 |title=Los "tupamaros", la guerrilla "Robin Hood" |journal=Atlante |year=2016 |issue=4 |pages=9–28 |doi=10.4000/atlante.11272 }}</ref> The organization gained notoriety for its violent acts of [[sabotage]], [[Bank robbery|bank and armory robberies]], assassinations of military and police officers, bombings, and kidnappings of judges, businessmen, diplomats and politicians.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fischer |first=Diego |author-link=Diego Fischer |title=La Gran Farsa, retrato de un país en llamas |publisher=[[Grupo Planeta|Editorial Planeta]] |year=2024 |isbn=978-9915-692-57-9 |edition=1st |location=Montevideo |pages=12 |language=es}}</ref>

The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, [[Raúl Sendic]], and his brand of Marxist politics. [[José Mujica]], who later became President of Uruguay, was also a member. 300 Tupamaros died either in action or in prisons (mostly in 1972), according to officials of the group. About 3,000 Tupamaros were also imprisoned.<ref>Christian, Shirley. [https://www.nytimes.com/1986/11/03/world/tupamaros-of-urugray-the-mystique-survives.html "TUPAMAROS OF URUGRAY: THE MYSTIQUE SURVIVES."] New York Times, 3 Nov. 1986.</ref>

==History==

=== Background ===
Due to the reforms implemented at the beginning of the 20th century during the [[History of Uruguay#Batlle era, 1903–33|Batlle era]], Uruguay became one of the most prosperous nations in Latin America.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-15 |title=El Uruguay Social {{!}} La Mañana |url=https://www.xn--lamaana-7za.uy/opinion/el-uruguay-social/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |language=es}}</ref> Since then, the country has maintained a robust welfare state, progressive social and labor laws, and a high quality of life, earning it the nickname 'The Switzerland of the Americas'.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Katz |first=Andrea Scoseria |date=2021-07-01 |title=La Suiza de América: Direct democracy, anti-presidentialism, and constitutional entrenchment in Uruguay's Constitution of 1918 |url=https://academic.oup.com/icon/article/19/3/997/6365276 |journal=International Journal of Constitutional Law |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=997–1019 |article-number=moab079 |doi=10.1093/icon/moab079 |issn=1474-2640|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Additionally, since the mid-19th century, Uruguay has experienced a massive wave of [[Immigration to Uruguay|European migration]], particularly from [[Italian Uruguayans|Italians]] and [[Spanish Uruguayans|Spaniards]], who significantly shaped its culture and society.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Taks |first=Javier |url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/124/12401412.pdf |title=Migraciones internacionales en Uruguay: de pueblo trasplantado a diáspora vinculada |publisher=Theomai |year=2006 |location=Montevideo |pages=141 |issn=1666-2830}}</ref>

During both World Wars, the [[Economy of Uruguay|Uruguayan economy]] was significantly boosted by the sale of raw materials to countries involved in the conflicts.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cómo una pequeña ciudad de Uruguay revolucionó nuestra forma de comer |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/vert-tra-46917409 |access-date=2024-01-31 |work=BBC News Mundo |language=es}}</ref> However, from the mid-1950s onward, as global demand for agricultural products declined and Europe underwent reconstruction, exports fell, leading to a severe economic crisis.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arregui |first=Miguel |title=El naufragio del neobatllismo |url=https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/el-naufragio-del-neobatllismo-201844400 |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=El Observador}}</ref> The Tupamaros emerged during this period of instability, attracting professionals, workers, trade unionists, and students.<ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Meade |first1=Teresa A. |author-link=Teresa Meade |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernl0000mead/page/270 |title=A history of modern Latin America : 1800 to the present |date=2016 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1405120500 |edition=Second |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernl0000mead/page/270 270–71]}}</ref> Unlike other guerrilla groups formed during the [[Cold War]], the MLN-T was primarily composed revolutionary leftist individuals from the upper-middle and upper classes.<ref>[https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/94786/files/TAZ-TFG-2020-1186.pdf]</ref>

=== Origins ===
According to one of its top members, [[Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro]], the formal founding of the MLN-T took place in 1965; however, the organization's first action was the theft of weapons and ammunition from the Tiro Suizo, a shooting range in [[Nueva Helvecia]], in 1963.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-06-17 |title=Robo al Tiro Suizo o el debut de la guerrilla urbana |url=https://www.subrayado.com.uy/robo-al-tiro-suizo-o-el-debut-la-guerrilla-urbana-n1531 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=subrayado.com.uy |language=es-UY}}</ref> A year earlier, nursing student Dora Isabel López de Oricchio was shot dead during an assault on the headquarters of a union association, carried out by a group led by [[Raúl Sendic|Raúl Sendic Antonaccio]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1971-1980 {{!}} Copamiento de Pando. |url=https://historico.elpais.com.uy/especiales/digital/90aniversario/19711980_01.html |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=El País}}</ref> This event is considered one of the earliest acts attributed to [[Far-left politics|far-left violence]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-04 |title=Aclaración... |url=https://www.elpais.com.uy/opinion/ecos/aclaracion-1-9 |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=EL PAIS |language=es-UY}}</ref>

At the outset, the organization did not operate under its name, instead operating in a more anonymous manner. In November 1964, leaflets were circulated for the first time that read {{Lang|es|TNT: Tupamaros no transamos}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Historia |url=http://www.chasque.net/mlnweb/historia/continuadoreshistoricos.htm |access-date=2025-01-22 |website=www.chasque.net}}</ref> 'Transamos'—the first-person plural form of the verb 'transar'—is slang from the ''[[lunfardo]]'' of [[Uruguayan Spanish]], used to mean 'compromise' or 'settle.' It often carries a negative connotation, implying a refusal to compromise on principles or values. The organization was named after the revolutionary [[Túpac Amaru II]], who in 1780 led a major indigenous revolt against the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brum |first=Pablo |title=The Robin Hood Guerrillas: The Epic Journey of Uruguay's Tupamaros |publisher=CreateSpace |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-4973-0872-5 |publication-place=Charleston, SC |pages=38–44 |oclc=885585177}}</ref>

In August 1965, the organization issued a leaflet under its name for the first time, claiming responsibility for an explosion at the entrance to the [[Bayer]] company's headquarters in Montevideo.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sanguinetti |first=Julio María |author-link=Julio María Sanguinetti |url=https://archive.org/details/laagoniadeunadem0000sang/page/386/mode/2up?view=theater |title=La agonía de una democracia |date=2008 |publisher=Punto de Lectura |isbn=978-997495436-6 |location=Montevideo |pages=60 |language=es}}</ref>

=== Activity ===
[[File:Policía investigando la red cloacal de Montevideo.jpg|thumb|Police operation taking place to inspect the sewers in Montevideo, which were used by MLN-T members to move around the city.]]
The movement began by staging the robbing of banks, gun clubs and other businesses in the early 1960s, then distributing stolen food and money among the poor in [[Montevideo]]. It took as its slogan, "Words divide us; action unites us."

Later on as the Tupamaros grew, they helped develop the '[[Broad Front (Uruguay)|Frente Amplio]]' political coalition, serving as the counterpart to their underground organization. The Frente Amplio combined leftist and centre-left views.<ref name="auto"/>

At the beginning, it abstained from armed actions and violence, acting not as a guerrilla group but a political movement.<ref name=Nahum>[[Benjamín Nahum]]'s ''El Fin Del Uruguay Liberal'' (Ediciones de la Banda Oriental, 1991) Volume 8 in ''Historia Uruguaya'' series</ref> In June 1968, President [[Jorge Pacheco Areco|Jorge Pacheco]], trying to suppress labour unrest, enforced a state of emergency and repealed all constitutional safeguards. The government imprisoned political dissidents, used [[torture]] during interrogations, and brutally repressed demonstrations.<ref name="Nahum"/> In 1969 the Tupamaros [[Casino San Rafael Heist|conducted the largest robbery in Uruguayan history]] and [[Taking of Pando|occupied the city of Pando]]. They then began engaging in political kidnappings, "armed propaganda" and assassinations. Of particular note were the kidnapping of powerful bank manager {{Interlanguage link|Ulysses Pereira Reverbel|es}} and of the British ambassador to Uruguay, [[Geoffrey Jackson]], as well as the assassination of [[Dan Mitrione]], a U.S. [[FBI]] agent also working for the CIA (via the Agency for International Development's Office of Public Safety), who the Tupamaros learned was advising the Uruguayan police in torture and other security work.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/21/world/uruguayan-clears-up-state-of-siege-killing.html | title=Uruguayan Clears Up 'State of Siege' Killing | date=21 June 1987 | newspaper=The New York Times | access-date=25 May 2019 }}</ref><ref>Manuel Hevia Cosculluela, ''Pasaporte 11333: Ocho Años con la CIA'', Havana, 1978, p. 286; see also [http://www.clarin.com/diario/2001/09/02/i-03101.htm "Dan Mitrione, un maestro de la tortura"], ''[[Clarín (Argentine newspaper)|Clarín]]'', 2 September 2001 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

The Tupamaros peaked as a guerrilla group in 1970 and 1971. During this period they made liberal use of their ''Cárcel del Pueblo'' (or People's Prison) where they held those that they kidnapped and interrogated them, before making the results of these interviews public. A number of these hostages were later ransomed for considerable sums of money, including the Brazilian Consul in Montevideo, {{Interlanguage link|Aloysio Dias Gomide|pt}}. In September 1971 over 100 imprisoned Tupamaros escaped the Punta Carretas prison by digging a hole across their cells and then a tunnel that led from the floor of one ground-level cell to the living room of a nearby home. As a result of this, the government summoned the military to prepare a [[counter-insurgency]] campaign to suppress the MLN.

=== End ===
{{See also|1973 Uruguayan coup d'état|Civic-military dictatorship of Uruguay}}

Nonetheless, in 1972 the group was quickly crippled by a series of events. First, it had started to engage in [[political violence]] since 1970, a choice that weakened its popular support. Second, the group responded to the assassination and/or disappearance of four Tupamaros on the part of illegal [[parapolice]] squads with a wave of high-profile assassinations that concentrated political opposition against them. Later on, the MLN directly attacked the military and killed a number of soldiers. The army's response was swift; it included the heavy use of torture and the flipping of high-ranking Tupamaros, including [[Héctor Amodio Pérez]], towards collaborating with them.<ref>Brum, ''The Robin Hood Guerrillas'', pp. 245–280</ref>

The Tupamaros collapsed in mid-1972, with the army killing many of them and capturing a majority of the rest. Shortly after defeating the MLN the military successively confronted the independence of the judiciary in October 1972, of the civilian executive branch in February 1973, and lastly the independence of the parliament in June 1973. On this latter occasion, it completed its coup d'état by deploying armored vehicles in the capital and shutting down the legislative branch by request of the Uruguayan President. Nine Tupamaros were specially chosen to remain in squalid conditions, including [[Raúl Sendic Antonaccio]], [[Julio Marenales]], [[Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro]], [[José Mujica]], [[Henry Engler]], [[Jorge Zabalza]], [[Adolfo Wasem]], [[Jorge Manera]] and [[Mauricio Rosencof]]. They remained there until the restoration of liberal democracy in Uruguay in 1985. During the intervening years, the military regime killed and "disappeared" additional numbers of people, focusing particularly on the [[Communist Party of Uruguay]].<ref>Brum, ''The Robin Hood Guerrillas'', pp. 305–336.</ref>

In 1984, a set of several 24-hour [[Uruguayan general strikes of 1984|Uruguayan general strikes]], eventually forced the military to accept civilian rule, with democratic elections held that year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ap |date=1984-01-19 |title=AROUND THE WORLD; Uruguay's Capital Paralyzed by Strike |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/01/19/world/around-the-world-uruguay-s-capital-paralyzed-by-strike.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=1984: Uruguay General Strike |url=https://libcom.org/article/1984-uruguay-general-strike |access-date=2023-06-06 |website= |language=en}}</ref> Under Julio María Sanguinetti, the new president, amnesty was granted to the Tupamaros and to the militaries. The Tupamaros were released from prison after over a decade and they joined in representing the Frente Amplio coalition party. In 2004, Tabaré Vásquez was the first to become president on the "Frente Amplio" ticket.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Meade |first1=Teresa A. |title=A history of modern Latin America : 1800 to the present |date=2016 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=978-1405120500 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernl0000mead/page/272 272] |edition=Second |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmodernl0000mead/page/272 }}</ref> The ceramicist and former member, [[Eva Díaz Torres]], returned to Uruguay during this period.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=3 August 2018 |title=Muestra póstuma trae a Montevideo obras de la nieta española de Torres García |url=https://www.eleconomistaamerica.com/cultura-eAm/noticias/8989820/03/18/Muestra-postuma-trae-a-Montevideo-obras-de-la-nieta-espanola-de-Torres-Garcia.html |website=El Economista America |language=es}}</ref>

==List of attacks==
{{Expand section|date=June 2008}}
*8 October 1969 – [[taking of Pando]].
*31 July 1970 – kidnapping of U.S. government official, [[Dan Mitrione]], who trained Uruguayan police. He was murdered on 10 August.
*31 July 1970 – kidnapping of the Brazilian consul Aloysio Dias Gomide, released on 21 February 1971 for ransom ($250,000).
*7 August 1970 – the kidnapping of U.S. agronomist Dr. Claude Fly, released on 2 March 1971 after a health crisis following a heart attack inside the People's Prison.<ref>"Uruguayan Leftists Free U.S. Adviser Seized in '70", ''The New York Times'', March 3, 1971, p1</ref>
*29 September 1970 – bombing of the Carrasco Bowling Club, gravely injuring the elderly caretaker Hilaria Ibarra<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.elpais.com.uy/09/09/05/predit_440027.asp|title=Las dos muertes de Hilaria|date=5 September 2009 }}</ref> (rescued from the rubble by [[Gustavo Zerbino]] who would later be a survivor of [[Andes Flight Disaster|the Andes disaster]]).
*8 January 1971 – the kidnapping of the British ambassador [[Geoffrey Jackson]].
*21 December 1971 – [[Murder of Pascasio Báez|killing of rural laborer Pascasio Báez]] by [[sodium pentothal]] injection.
*14 April 1972 - several members of the paramilitary [[Death squads in Uruguay|death squads]] were killed, after the abduction of a member of the group revealed its existence and government involvement.<ref>{{cite news |title=EN SANGRIENTA CELADA ACRIBILLARON A UN JERARCA POLICIAL Y SU CHOFER |url=https://www.pasadoreciente.com/hechos/1972/7%20ACCIONES%20TERRORISTAS%2014%20DE%20ABRIL/nuevas/7E%2015%20Abr%2072%20p%202.jpg |access-date=16 December 2024 |publisher=El Pais - Uruguay |date=15 April 1972}}</ref>
*18 May 1972 – four [[Uruguayan Army]] soldiers killed by machine gun fire while watching over the house of the commander-in-chief of the Army, General Florencio Gravina.<ref>Heinz, Wolfgang & Frühling, Hugo: ''Determinants of gross human rights violations by state and state-sponsored actors in Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina, 1960–1990.'' Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1999, p. 255. {{ISBN|90-411-1202-2}}</ref>

== Notable members ==

* The Uruguayan "nine hostages" kept under arrest between 1972 and 1985:
** [[Raúl Sendic]] – Founder and leader of the group. Famous for his self-effacing, timid nature.
** [[Eleuterio Fernández Huidobro]] – Became a prominent politician beginning in the mid-1990s. Ministry of National Defense in 2011 until his death. On August 5, 2016, he died in office at the age of 74.
** [[José Mujica]] – President of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015 and leader of the [[Movement of Popular Participation]].
** [[Mauricio Rosencof]] – Became a prominent writer and playwright after leaving prison. Director of Culture of the [[Intendancy of Montevideo]] in 2005.
** [[Henry Engler]] – Left for Sweden post-prison and became a prominent medical researcher.
** Adolfo Wasem – Died of cancer before liberation.
** [[Jorge Zabalza]] – The youngest of the "nine hostages". Famous in Uruguay for his continued radical militancy well into his later years, as well as his criticism of his fellow ex-Tupamaros. Died on February 23, 2022.
** Julio Marenales
** Jorge Manera
* [[Héctor Amodio Pérez]] – The only prominent and founding member of the Tupamaros who organized the escape from Punta Carretas prison. He fled to Spain in 1973 and only resurfaced in the public eye in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/254840/amodio-perez-esta-es-mi-verdad-y-no-voy-a-mentir-para-hacerla-creible/ |title=Amodio Pérez: "Esta es mi verdad y no voy a mentir para hacerla creíble" |website=www.elobservador.com.uy |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712033100/http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/254840/amodio-perez-esta-es-mi-verdad-y-no-voy-a-mentir-para-hacerla-creible/ |archive-date=12 July 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Lucía Topolansky]] – First female vice-president of Uruguay from 2017 to 2020. Married [[José Mujica]] in 2005, after decades of living together.

== See also ==
* [[1973 Uruguayan general strike]]
* [[Juventud Uruguaya de Pie]]
* [[Movement of Popular Participation]]
* [[Taking of Pando]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.chasque.net/mlnweb/ Tupamaros (Official Site)]
*[http://www.start.umd.edu/gtd/search/Results.aspx?page=1&casualties_type=&casualties_max=&perpetrator=623&count=100&charttype=line&chart=overtime&ob=GTDID&od=desc&expanded=yes#results-table Attacks attributed to the Tupamaros on the START database]
*[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/uruguay/tupamaros-uruguay.htm The Tupamaros of Uruguay]
* [http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,909986,00.html Tupamaros Tunnel Out.] ''Time'' 1971.

{{Uruguay topics}}

[[Category:Tupamaros| ]]
[[Category:Uruguayan guerrillas]]
[[Category:Guerrilla movements in Latin America]]
[[Category:Communism in Uruguay]]
[[Category:Far-left politics in Uruguay]]
[[Category:Defunct communist militant groups]]
[[Category:Paramilitary organizations based in Uruguay]]
[[Category:1967 establishments in Uruguay]]

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Tupamaros