19th of April Movement
Encyclopedia
The 19th of April Movement (in Spanish: Movimiento 19 de Abril) or M-19, was a Colombia
n guerrilla
movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática M-19), or AD/M-19.
The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970. In those elections, the National Popular Alliance
(ANAPO) of former military dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
was denied an electoral victory.
The ideology
of the M-19 was a mixture of populism
and nationalistic revolutionary socialism. It was inspired by other South American urban guerrilla groups, such as the Tupamaros
in Uruguay and the Montoneros
in Argentina.
By mid-1985, when the number of active members was estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 (including a more noticeable urban presence), the M-19 was the second largest guerrilla group in Colombia after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
. It had become known for carrying out a number of awe-inspiring actions that provoked conflicting feelings of amazement and anger among the different sectors of Colombian public opinion
.
Among the actions performed by the M-19, some significant events stand out. In a highly symbolic action, the M-19 stole one of Simón Bolívar
's swords from a museum in 1974, an event which was used by the group to symbolize what they called a civilian uprising against a regime perceived as unjust. On New Year's Eve 1979, the group dug a tunnel into a Colombian Army weapons depot, taking over 5000 weapons. It was considered one of the first signs of the group's true potential for armed action.
In February 1976, the M-19 kidnapped the union leader Jose Raquel Mercado, who was the president of Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC), and on 19 April 1976, executed him. The event shocked the country. The group accused Mercado of taking bribes and collaborating with the CIA.
. The guerrillas stormed the Dominican Republic
's embassy during a cocktail party on 27 February 1980. They took the largest recorded number of diplomats held hostage to date in Colombia, which accounted for 14 ambassadors, including the United States'. Eventually, after tense negotiations with the government of Julio César Turbay Ayala
, the hostages were peacefully released and the hostage takers were allowed to leave the country for exile into Cuba. Some of them later returned and actively rejoined the M-19's activities. Many contemporary rumors and later accounts from the participants in this event have suggested that the Colombian government might have submitted to another of the M-19 demands, by allegedly giving the group 1 to 2.5 million U.S. dollars in exchange for the release of the hostages.
(1982–1986), Bateman by then maximum leader of the M-19, proposed the government to hold a meeting in Panama with the intention to advance dialogues that allowed to solve the conflict. But Bateman died 28 April 1983 in a flight accident, apparently while one went to Panama and the negotiations were suspended.
The negotiations culminated with the Agreements of Corinto, The Cauca; in that a ceasefire was agreed and the continuation of dialogue for the future demobilization of the guerrilla detachment, nevertheless, sectors of the army opposed the agreements, as much of The Uribe as those of Corinto were the responsible of attacks against the life of the main leaders; Iván Marino Ospina
, Antonio Navarro
, Carlos Pizarro, Marcos Chalita, etc.
. In this attack, on 6 November 1985, some 300 lawyers, judges, and Supreme Court magistrates were taken hostage by 35 armed rebel commandos at the Palace of Justice, the building that houses the Supreme Court of Colombia
. They demanded that president Belisario Betancur
be tried by the magistrates for allegedly betraying the country's desire for peace. When this situation became publicly known, the Colombian Army surrounded the Palace of Justice's perimeter with soldiers and EE-9 Cascavel
armored reconnaissance vehicles. For a short while, unsuccessful negotiations were attempted, but they reached nowhere, despite the desperate pleas that were transmitted telephonically by some of the notable hostages involved.
The Betancur administration and its council found themselves in a difficult position. They were not willing to submit to the rebels' demands, as they allegedly considered that this would set a further precedent for the M-19 and considerably jeopardize the government's position. Eventually, after tense discussions, it was decided during an emergency meeting that the military would be allowed to handle the situation and attempt to recover the Palace by force.
This led to a highly controversial turn of events which, to a lesser or greater degree, continues to be debated in Colombia to this date. In the ensuing heavy crossfire between the incoming soldiers and the entrenched rebels, which included supporting gunfire from the EE-9 Cascavels, the building was set aflame, more than 100 people died (including 11 of the country's 21 Supreme Court Justices), and valuable legal records were destroyed.
The M-19 lost several of its top commanders during the event, and blamed the government for the ensuing bloodshed. The surviving civilian victims and their families held different positions; some blamed the M-19, some blamed the Betancur administration, many blamed both. There is apparently no clear consensus on the matter.
It has been argued that drug lords, such as Pablo Escobar
, may have masterminded the operation in order to get rid of several criminal investigations recorded in the documents lost during the event. A Special Commission of Inquiry, established by the Betancur government, released a June 1986 report which concluded that this was apparently not the case.
Former Assistant of the Colombia Attorney General, National Deputy Comptroller, Author and Professor Jose Mauricio Gaona along with Former Minister of Justice, and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Carlos Medellín Becerra, the sons of two of the murdered Supreme Court magistrates, have pushed for further investigations into the presumed links between the M-19 and the Medellín Cartel
drug lords. Congressman Gustavo Petro
, a former M-19 guerrilla, has denied these accusations and dismissed them as based upon the inconsistent testimonies of drug lords. Petro says that the surviving members of the M-19 do admit to their share of responsibility for the tragic events of the siege, on behalf of the entire organization, but deny any links to the drug trade.
The M-19 eventually gave up its weapons, received pardons and became a political party in the late 80's, the M-19 Democratic Alliance ("Alianza Democrática M-19", or (AD/M-19)), which renounced the armed struggle. Eventually the M-19 returned Bolívar's sword as a symbol of its demobilization and desire to change society through its participation in legal politics.
In 1990, one of its more prominent figures, presidential candidate and former guerrilla commander Carlos Pizarro Leongómez
, while aboard an airline flight, was murdered by assassins, supposedly on the orders of drug cartel
and paramilitary
leaders (disappeared AUC
commander Carlos Castaño
publicly admitted his own responsibility for the murder in a 2002 book and interviews). Some of its other members were also subject to multiple threats or likewise murdered. Antonio Navarro Wolff
replaced the deceased Pizarro as candidate and leader of the party, finishing third in that year's presidential race.
Despite the continuation of smaller scale violence against it, the AD/M-19 survived through the 90's, achieved favorable electoral results on a local level and actively participated as a high profile political force in the forging of Colombia's modern 1991 constitution, which replaced a conservative document ostensibly dating from 1886. Antonio Navarro was one of the three co-presidents of the Constituent Assembly of Colombia
, together with representatives from the Colombian Liberal Party
and the Colombian Conservative Party
.
Several analysts consider that the AD/M-19 reached its peak at this point in time and, while never disappearing completely from the political background, it began to gradually decline as a party by its own although many of its ex-members have reached a first line influence in the Independent Democratic Pole
coalition.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance (Alianza Democrática M-19), or AD/M-19.
The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970. In those elections, the National Popular Alliance
National Popular Alliance
The National Popular Alliance or ANAPO was a political party in Colombia. It was founded in 1961 as a movement by the ex-president Gustavo Rojas Pinilla and was disbanded in 1998...
(ANAPO) of former military dictator Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla
Gustavo Rojas Pinilla was a Colombian politician, military officer, General of the Army and President of Colombia between 1953 and 1957.- Biographic data :...
was denied an electoral victory.
The ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
of the M-19 was a mixture of populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
and nationalistic revolutionary socialism. It was inspired by other South American urban guerrilla groups, such as the Tupamaros
Tupamaros
Tupamaros, also known as the MLN-T , was an urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of social politics...
in Uruguay and the Montoneros
Montoneros
Montoneros was an Argentine Peronist urban guerrilla group, active during the 1960s and 1970s. The name is an allusion to 19th century Argentinian history. After Juan Perón's return from 18 years of exile and the 1973 Ezeiza massacre, which marked the definitive split between left and right-wing...
in Argentina.
By mid-1985, when the number of active members was estimated at between 1,500 and 2,000 (including a more noticeable urban presence), the M-19 was the second largest guerrilla group in Colombia after the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
. It had become known for carrying out a number of awe-inspiring actions that provoked conflicting feelings of amazement and anger among the different sectors of Colombian public opinion
Public opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs held by the adult population. Public opinion can also be defined as the complex collection of opinions of many different people and the sum of all their views....
.
Armed Activity
Some analysts believe that the M-19's history may be divided into two parts: the first was a failed armed revolutionary struggle during the early to mid 1980s, while the second was a relatively constructive reincorporation into civil society and political life during the late 1980s and early 1990s.Among the actions performed by the M-19, some significant events stand out. In a highly symbolic action, the M-19 stole one of Simón Bolívar
Simón Bolívar
Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Yeiter, commonly known as Simón Bolívar was a Venezuelan military and political leader...
's swords from a museum in 1974, an event which was used by the group to symbolize what they called a civilian uprising against a regime perceived as unjust. On New Year's Eve 1979, the group dug a tunnel into a Colombian Army weapons depot, taking over 5000 weapons. It was considered one of the first signs of the group's true potential for armed action.
In February 1976, the M-19 kidnapped the union leader Jose Raquel Mercado, who was the president of Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC), and on 19 April 1976, executed him. The event shocked the country. The group accused Mercado of taking bribes and collaborating with the CIA.
Dominican Republic embassy siege
The group is also recognized for other high profile activities, such as the Dominican embassy siegeDominican embassy siege
The Dominican Embassy siege was the 1980 siege of the embassy of the Dominican Republic by M-19 guerrillas in Bogotá, Colombia. The guerrillas held nearly 60 people, including 14 ambassadors, hostage for 61 days.-The Siege:...
. The guerrillas stormed the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
's embassy during a cocktail party on 27 February 1980. They took the largest recorded number of diplomats held hostage to date in Colombia, which accounted for 14 ambassadors, including the United States'. Eventually, after tense negotiations with the government of Julio César Turbay Ayala
Julio César Turbay Ayala
Julio César Turbay Ayala was a Colombian politician, member of the Colombian Liberal Party, elected president of the Senate of Colombia and and, was president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.- Biographic data :...
, the hostages were peacefully released and the hostage takers were allowed to leave the country for exile into Cuba. Some of them later returned and actively rejoined the M-19's activities. Many contemporary rumors and later accounts from the participants in this event have suggested that the Colombian government might have submitted to another of the M-19 demands, by allegedly giving the group 1 to 2.5 million U.S. dollars in exchange for the release of the hostages.
First Dialogues of peace
During the government of Belisario BetancurBelisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, who as a member of the Colombian Conservative Party was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986.- Biographic data :...
(1982–1986), Bateman by then maximum leader of the M-19, proposed the government to hold a meeting in Panama with the intention to advance dialogues that allowed to solve the conflict. But Bateman died 28 April 1983 in a flight accident, apparently while one went to Panama and the negotiations were suspended.
The negotiations culminated with the Agreements of Corinto, The Cauca; in that a ceasefire was agreed and the continuation of dialogue for the future demobilization of the guerrilla detachment, nevertheless, sectors of the army opposed the agreements, as much of The Uribe as those of Corinto were the responsible of attacks against the life of the main leaders; Iván Marino Ospina
Ivan marino ospina
Iván Marino Ospina was a Colombian guerrilla and co-founder of the revolutionary group 19th of April Movement .-Early life:Not much is known of Marino's early life...
, Antonio Navarro
Antonio Navarro
Antonio Navarro can refer to:* Antonio Navarro Wolff, a Colombian politician* Antonio Navarro , a Mexican Olympic fencer...
, Carlos Pizarro, Marcos Chalita, etc.
Palace of Justice siege
The M-19, as a guerilla group, is also recognized for the Palace of Justice siegePalace of Justice siege
The Palace of Justice siege was a 1985 attack against the Supreme Court of Colombia, in which members of the M-19 guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia, and held the Supreme Court hostage, intending to hold a trial against President Belisario Betancur...
. In this attack, on 6 November 1985, some 300 lawyers, judges, and Supreme Court magistrates were taken hostage by 35 armed rebel commandos at the Palace of Justice, the building that houses the Supreme Court of Colombia
Supreme Court of Colombia
The Supreme Court of Colombia in Bogotá is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in Colombia...
. They demanded that president Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, who as a member of the Colombian Conservative Party was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986.- Biographic data :...
be tried by the magistrates for allegedly betraying the country's desire for peace. When this situation became publicly known, the Colombian Army surrounded the Palace of Justice's perimeter with soldiers and EE-9 Cascavel
EE-9 Cascavel
The EE-9 Cascavel is a 6 x 6 armoured car developed in the 1970s by Engesa of Brazil. It used as many commercially available parts as possible. It also shares many components with the EE-11 Urutu APC...
armored reconnaissance vehicles. For a short while, unsuccessful negotiations were attempted, but they reached nowhere, despite the desperate pleas that were transmitted telephonically by some of the notable hostages involved.
The Betancur administration and its council found themselves in a difficult position. They were not willing to submit to the rebels' demands, as they allegedly considered that this would set a further precedent for the M-19 and considerably jeopardize the government's position. Eventually, after tense discussions, it was decided during an emergency meeting that the military would be allowed to handle the situation and attempt to recover the Palace by force.
This led to a highly controversial turn of events which, to a lesser or greater degree, continues to be debated in Colombia to this date. In the ensuing heavy crossfire between the incoming soldiers and the entrenched rebels, which included supporting gunfire from the EE-9 Cascavels, the building was set aflame, more than 100 people died (including 11 of the country's 21 Supreme Court Justices), and valuable legal records were destroyed.
The M-19 lost several of its top commanders during the event, and blamed the government for the ensuing bloodshed. The surviving civilian victims and their families held different positions; some blamed the M-19, some blamed the Betancur administration, many blamed both. There is apparently no clear consensus on the matter.
It has been argued that drug lords, such as Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...
, may have masterminded the operation in order to get rid of several criminal investigations recorded in the documents lost during the event. A Special Commission of Inquiry, established by the Betancur government, released a June 1986 report which concluded that this was apparently not the case.
Former Assistant of the Colombia Attorney General, National Deputy Comptroller, Author and Professor Jose Mauricio Gaona along with Former Minister of Justice, and Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Carlos Medellín Becerra, the sons of two of the murdered Supreme Court magistrates, have pushed for further investigations into the presumed links between the M-19 and the Medellín Cartel
Medellín Cartel
The Medellín Cartel was an organized network of "drug suppliers and smugglers" originating in the city of Medellín, Colombia. The drug cartel operated in Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, Central America, the United States, as well as Canada and Europe throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was founded and...
drug lords. Congressman Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego is a Colombian politician of the Political Independent movement Progresistas . As a young man he fought with the 19th of April Movement, which later evolved into the Alianza Democrática M-19. He then became active in newly-established Alianza Democrática M-19...
, a former M-19 guerrilla, has denied these accusations and dismissed them as based upon the inconsistent testimonies of drug lords. Petro says that the surviving members of the M-19 do admit to their share of responsibility for the tragic events of the siege, on behalf of the entire organization, but deny any links to the drug trade.
Demobilization and Participation in Politics
In 1990, one of its more prominent figures, presidential candidate and former guerrilla commander Carlos Pizarro Leongómez
Carlos Pizarro Leongómez
Carlos Pizarro Leongómez was the fourth commander of the Colombian guerrilla group 19th of April Movement . Pizarro later ran for president of Colombia after the demobilization of M-19 that transformed the group into the political party, M-19 Democratic Alliance...
, while aboard an airline flight, was murdered by assassins, supposedly on the orders of drug cartel
Drug cartel
Drug cartels are criminal organizations developed with the primary purpose of promoting and controlling drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the largest trafficking...
and paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
leaders (disappeared AUC
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia was created as an umbrella organization of regional far-right...
commander Carlos Castaño
Carlos Castaño
Carlos Castaño Gil was the founder of the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá , an extreme right paramilitary organization in Colombia...
publicly admitted his own responsibility for the murder in a 2002 book and interviews). Some of its other members were also subject to multiple threats or likewise murdered. Antonio Navarro Wolff
Antonio Navarro Wolff
Antonio Navarro Wolff is a Colombian politician and former commander of the 19th of April Movement guerrilla group, which demobilized and formed a political party which he also led...
replaced the deceased Pizarro as candidate and leader of the party, finishing third in that year's presidential race.
Despite the continuation of smaller scale violence against it, the AD/M-19 survived through the 90's, achieved favorable electoral results on a local level and actively participated as a high profile political force in the forging of Colombia's modern 1991 constitution, which replaced a conservative document ostensibly dating from 1886. Antonio Navarro was one of the three co-presidents of the Constituent Assembly of Colombia
Constituent Assembly of Colombia
The Constituent Assembly of Colombia was formed on February 5, 1991, to draft Colombia's 1991 constitution. It was dissolved in June 1991, after the new document was adopted nationwide.-Background:...
, together with representatives from the Colombian Liberal Party
Colombian Liberal Party
The Colombian Liberal Party is a center-left party in Colombia that adheres to social democracy and social liberalism.The Party was founded in 1848 and, together with the Colombian Conservative Party, subsequently became one of the two main political forces in the country for over a century.After...
and the Colombian Conservative Party
Colombian Conservative Party
The Colombian Conservative Party , is a conservative political party in Colombia. The party was unofficially founded by a group of Revolutionary Commoners during the Revolutionary War for Independence from the Spanish Monarchy and later formally established during the Greater Colombia...
.
Several analysts consider that the AD/M-19 reached its peak at this point in time and, while never disappearing completely from the political background, it began to gradually decline as a party by its own although many of its ex-members have reached a first line influence in the Independent Democratic Pole
Independent Democratic Pole
The Independent Democratic Pole or , is a left-wing social democratic political party in Colombia.-Origins:...
coalition.
Sources
- Carrigan, Ana. The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy, Four Walls Eight WindowsFour Walls Eight WindowsFour Walls Eight Windows was an independent book publisher in New York City. Its debut occurred in the fall of 1987, under the direction of two young editors, John G. H. Oakes and Daniel Simon. In 1995, Oakes and Simon parted ways...
, 1993. ISBN 978-0-941423-82-3 - Vásquez Perdomo, María Eugenia. My Life as a Colombian Revolutionary: Reflections of a Former Guerrillera, Trans. Lorena Terando, Philadelphia: Temple University PressTemple University PressTemple University Press is a university press publishing house that is part of Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.The press was founded in 1969....
, 2005. ISBN 978-1-59213-101-3