Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front
Encyclopedia
The Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (FPMR), also known as El Frente Patriótico, or simply El Frente, is a left-wing urban guerrilla movement in Chile
, named for a figure in Chile's independence movement, Manuel Rodríguez. The group was founded on September 14, 1983 as an armed resistance against the Pinochet regime by the Communist Party of Chile
(PCCh). At its height, the FPMR was estimated to have between 1,000 and 1,500 members. Most of the guerrillas were jailed and tortured or disappeared
. It has since become independent from the PCCh, and has joined the parliamentary system during the transition to democracy
, participating in the Juntos Podemos Más
left-wing coalition.
(PCCh) after overthrowing President
Salvador Allende
and seizing power in the Chilean coup of 1973
. Following the coup, the PCCh entered a process of reevaluation of its policies, notably criticizing the lack of a military policy. This led to the creation of an armed wing in 1974, which would form the basis for the FPMR. In September 1980, Luis Corvalán
, the general secretary of the PCCh, announced that the "popular rebellion against Pinochet's tyranny [was] legitimate," thus initiating the "policy of mass popular rebellion". In 1981 a rural guerrilla set up in Neltume by the rival left opposition MIR
was suffocated by the military, this prompted the formation of the FPMR in 1983 as an urban guerrilla. The group's aim was to generate the conditions of a massive rebellion, through audacious acts which would jeopardize the dictatorship's stability.
The group should be seen as a sign of the PCCh's strong shift to the left following Pinochet's seizure of power. Initially raised arguments that the Popular Unity
government should have widened its social base to draw in sections of the middle class and former supporters of Christian Democracy
were rejected and instead it was argued the Allende government should have instead armed the workers and rejected accommodation with the armed forces.
, robberies of food then distributed to the population and others acts which hoped at increasing the social unrest rooted in the 1982 economic crisis. It then extended its operations to armed struggle per se. Thus, on 16 July 1985, they attacked the US consulate in Santiago with a car bomb
, killing one and injuring two.
On September 7, 1986, the FPMR attacked Pinochet's car in an assassination attempt. Five of Pinochet's body guards were killed and eleven wounded. Pinochet, however, only suffered minor injuries. Also in 1986, Chilean security forces caught the FPMR smuggling an 80-ton shipment of weapons in Carrizal Bajo
, including C-4 plastic explosives, RPG-7
and M72 LAW
rocket launchers as well as more than three thousand M-16 rifles.
The failure of Pinochet's attempted assassination led to an internal crisis in the FPMR, leading to splits and to the complete autonomy of the group towards the PCCh. To the dismay of the Chilean Communist Party many ordinary Chileans openly displayed their disgust of the actions of the FPMR. Furthermore, the political repression against the group led to the arrest of many important members, heavily affecting the group's logistics. A split occurred in 1987 resulting in two FPMR: the political movement Movimiento Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez (MPMR), close to the PCCH; and an autonomous group which rejected the new directions of the PCCH (to abandon the armed struggle).
On 8 April 1986, FPMR guerrillas kidnapped and held captive for 48 hours carabineros corporal Germán Obando but freed him after 48 hours after nationwide coverage of the incident resulted in mass condemnation, including political groups normally sympathetic to the cause of the FPMR.
On 13 April 1987, the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) simultaneously assaulted the offices of Associated Press (AP) and eight radio stations in Santiago, killing an off-duty security guard.
On 29 April 1988, Sergeant Juan de Dios Hormazábal of the Chilean Carabineros is killed in an FPMR ambush whilst on patrol in Renca.
In the period 1988-1994, the FPMR conducted 15 attacks against Mormon churches and temples.
On 20 August 1989, FPMR guerrillas attacked the Chilean army helicopter base at Tobalaba and guerrilla commander Roberto Nordenflycht (commandant "Aurelio") is killed in the gunfight.
Marcelo Barrios Andres, a 21 years-old member of the FPMR, was assassinated on August 31, 1989 in Valparaíso
, by a group which included military official Óscar Aspe, captain Sergio Schiffelle Kirby, sergeant Jorge Figueroa, and Silverio Fierrio and Luis Ceballos, along with 18 Marines
. They were supposed to arrest him on orders of Valparaíso's public prosecutor. However, they simply executed him. Dozens of bullets were found in his body, and the trace of almost 500 shots found in his house. Marcelo Barrios is on the Rettig Report
's list of executed activists, and Óscar Aspe is included as guilty of human rights violations in the 2001 Comisión Ética contra la Tortura.
On March 21, 1990, members of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front entered Gustavo Leigh
's office and shot him. Five bullets hit his body. Other than the loss of an eye, he was able to make a complete recovery. On 5 November 1990, FPMR guerrillas detonated a bomb inside a restaurant in this seaside resort of Viña del Mar, wounding three sailors from the United States aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Three British tourists and two waitresses were also injured in the attack.
In 1993, FPMR guerrillas bombed two McDonald's restaurants and attempted to bomb a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.
in 1991, the FPMR reduced its actions. It split into two parts: one which returned to seeking change through the political system, and another which continued to advocate armed struggle. The latter faction continued to commit kidnappings and robberies, including the murder of the Independent Democrat Union
senator
Jaime Guzmán
on April 1, 1991. Other main targets included LDS churches, the kidnapping of Cristian Edwards, son of the owner of the nation's most prominent newspaper, El Mercurio
, and US businesses in Chile such as McDonald's
and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant franchises. After these operations, the FPMR ceased armed activities until 1996.
On December 30, 1996, the group organized the escape of various FMPR members imprisoned in the high security prison of Santiago de Chile, including Patricio Ortiz.
In 2002, a spin-out led to the creation of Identidad Rodriguista (IR).
In 2005 FPMR member Patricio Ortiz received political asylum in Switzerland
. He was sentenced in Chile to ten years of prison for the assassination of a police officer in 1991, during the beginning of the transition to democracy. Ortiz escaped from a Chilean prison in 1996, and reached Switzerland the following year. Following an extradition
request by Chile, he was detained by Swiss authorities, who later refused to extradite him as his physical integrity could not be assured (i.e. possibility of torture
: extraditing him would have violated article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights ). Swiss authorities then freed him and granted him asylum. In 2007 the Socialist
President Michelle Bachelet
, who had been herself tortured by the army, criticized the political asylum given to Ortiz, which lifted indignation of human rights NGOs.
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, named for a figure in Chile's independence movement, Manuel Rodríguez. The group was founded on September 14, 1983 as an armed resistance against the Pinochet regime by the Communist Party of Chile
Communist Party of Chile
The Communist Party of Chile is a Chilean political party inspired by the thoughts of Karl Marx and Lenin. It was founded in 1922, as the continuation of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1934 it established its youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile .In the last legislative elections in Chile...
(PCCh). At its height, the FPMR was estimated to have between 1,000 and 1,500 members. Most of the guerrillas were jailed and tortured or disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
. It has since become independent from the PCCh, and has joined the parliamentary system during the transition to democracy
Chilean transition to democracy
The Chilean transition to democracy began when a Constitution establishing a transition itinerary was approved in a plebiscite. From March 11, 1981 to March 11, 1990, several organic constitutional laws were approved leading to the final restoration of democracy...
, participating in the Juntos Podemos Más
Juntos Podemos Más
Juntos Podemos Más por Chile is a political coalition created in 2003, consisting of the Communist Party of Chile, the Humanist Party, the Christian Left Party of Chile, and several other smaller left-wing organizations.The...
left-wing coalition.
Founding
Pinochet had banned the Communist Party of ChileCommunist Party of Chile
The Communist Party of Chile is a Chilean political party inspired by the thoughts of Karl Marx and Lenin. It was founded in 1922, as the continuation of the Socialist Workers Party, and in 1934 it established its youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile .In the last legislative elections in Chile...
(PCCh) after overthrowing President
President of Chile
The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
and seizing power in the Chilean coup of 1973
Chilean coup of 1973
The 1973 Chilean coup d'état was a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile. Following an extended period of political unrest between the conservative-dominated Congress of Chile and the socialist-leaning President Salvador Allende, discontent culminated in the latter's downfall in...
. Following the coup, the PCCh entered a process of reevaluation of its policies, notably criticizing the lack of a military policy. This led to the creation of an armed wing in 1974, which would form the basis for the FPMR. In September 1980, Luis Corvalán
Luis Corvalán
Luis Alberto Corvalán Lepe was a Chilean politician. He served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of Chile ....
, the general secretary of the PCCh, announced that the "popular rebellion against Pinochet's tyranny [was] legitimate," thus initiating the "policy of mass popular rebellion". In 1981 a rural guerrilla set up in Neltume by the rival left opposition MIR
Revolutionary Left Movement (Chile)
Revolutionary Left Movement is a Chilean political party and former left-wing guerrilla organization founded on October 12, 1965...
was suffocated by the military, this prompted the formation of the FPMR in 1983 as an urban guerrilla. The group's aim was to generate the conditions of a massive rebellion, through audacious acts which would jeopardize the dictatorship's stability.
The group should be seen as a sign of the PCCh's strong shift to the left following Pinochet's seizure of power. Initially raised arguments that the Popular Unity
Popular Unity
Unidad Popular was a coalition of left wing, socialist and communist political parties in Chile that stood behind the successful candidacy of Salvador Allende for the 1970 Chilean presidential election....
government should have widened its social base to draw in sections of the middle class and former supporters of Christian Democracy
Christian Democracy
Christian democracy is a political ideology that seeks to apply Christian principles to public policy. It emerged in nineteenth-century Europe under the influence of conservatism and Catholic social teaching...
were rejected and instead it was argued the Allende government should have instead armed the workers and rejected accommodation with the armed forces.
Activities
The FPMR first appeared on the national scene by provoking a power shortage in the central zone of Chile on December 14, 1983. It mainly engaged at first in acts of terrorismTerrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
, robberies of food then distributed to the population and others acts which hoped at increasing the social unrest rooted in the 1982 economic crisis. It then extended its operations to armed struggle per se. Thus, on 16 July 1985, they attacked the US consulate in Santiago with a car bomb
Car bomb
A car bomb, or truck bomb also known as a Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device , is an improvised explosive device placed in a car or other vehicle and then detonated. It is commonly used as a weapon of assassination, terrorism, or guerrilla warfare, to kill the occupants of the vehicle,...
, killing one and injuring two.
On September 7, 1986, the FPMR attacked Pinochet's car in an assassination attempt. Five of Pinochet's body guards were killed and eleven wounded. Pinochet, however, only suffered minor injuries. Also in 1986, Chilean security forces caught the FPMR smuggling an 80-ton shipment of weapons in Carrizal Bajo
Carrizal Bajo
Carrizal Bajo is a harbour and village in Atacama Region, Chile, located about 50 km north of the city of Huasco. Between May and August 1986 the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front, the armed wing of the Communist Party of Chile, used the port to smuggle in weapons from Cuban ships anchored...
, including C-4 plastic explosives, RPG-7
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
and M72 LAW
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW is a portable one-shot 66 mm unguided anti-tank weapon, designed in the United States by Paul V. Choate, Charles B. Weeks, and Frank A. Spinale et al...
rocket launchers as well as more than three thousand M-16 rifles.
The failure of Pinochet's attempted assassination led to an internal crisis in the FPMR, leading to splits and to the complete autonomy of the group towards the PCCh. To the dismay of the Chilean Communist Party many ordinary Chileans openly displayed their disgust of the actions of the FPMR. Furthermore, the political repression against the group led to the arrest of many important members, heavily affecting the group's logistics. A split occurred in 1987 resulting in two FPMR: the political movement Movimiento Patriótico Manuel Rodríguez (MPMR), close to the PCCH; and an autonomous group which rejected the new directions of the PCCH (to abandon the armed struggle).
On 8 April 1986, FPMR guerrillas kidnapped and held captive for 48 hours carabineros corporal Germán Obando but freed him after 48 hours after nationwide coverage of the incident resulted in mass condemnation, including political groups normally sympathetic to the cause of the FPMR.
On 13 April 1987, the Manuel Rodriguez Patriotic Front (FPMR) simultaneously assaulted the offices of Associated Press (AP) and eight radio stations in Santiago, killing an off-duty security guard.
On 29 April 1988, Sergeant Juan de Dios Hormazábal of the Chilean Carabineros is killed in an FPMR ambush whilst on patrol in Renca.
In the period 1988-1994, the FPMR conducted 15 attacks against Mormon churches and temples.
On 20 August 1989, FPMR guerrillas attacked the Chilean army helicopter base at Tobalaba and guerrilla commander Roberto Nordenflycht (commandant "Aurelio") is killed in the gunfight.
Marcelo Barrios Andres, a 21 years-old member of the FPMR, was assassinated on August 31, 1989 in Valparaíso
Valparaíso
Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...
, by a group which included military official Óscar Aspe, captain Sergio Schiffelle Kirby, sergeant Jorge Figueroa, and Silverio Fierrio and Luis Ceballos, along with 18 Marines
Chilean Navy
-Independence Wars of Chile and Peru :The Chilean Navy dates back to 1817. A year before, following the Battle of Chacabuco, General Bernardo O'Higgins prophetically declared "this victory and another hundred shall be of no significance if we do not gain control of the sea".This led to the...
. They were supposed to arrest him on orders of Valparaíso's public prosecutor. However, they simply executed him. Dozens of bullets were found in his body, and the trace of almost 500 shots found in his house. Marcelo Barrios is on the Rettig Report
Rettig Report
The Rettig Report, officially The National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation Report, is a 1991 report by a commission designated by then President Patricio Aylwin encompassing human rights abuses resulting in death or disappearance that occurred in Chile during the years of military rule...
's list of executed activists, and Óscar Aspe is included as guilty of human rights violations in the 2001 Comisión Ética contra la Tortura.
On March 21, 1990, members of the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front entered Gustavo Leigh
Gustavo Leigh
Air General Gustavo Leigh Guzmán was a Chilean general, who represented the Air Force in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état and, for a time, in the ruling junta that followed. Leigh was forced out of the military government in 1978.-Biography:Leigh was born in Santiago, son of Hernán Leigh Bañados and...
's office and shot him. Five bullets hit his body. Other than the loss of an eye, he was able to make a complete recovery. On 5 November 1990, FPMR guerrillas detonated a bomb inside a restaurant in this seaside resort of Viña del Mar, wounding three sailors from the United States aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln. Three British tourists and two waitresses were also injured in the attack.
In 1993, FPMR guerrillas bombed two McDonald's restaurants and attempted to bomb a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant.
Transition to democracy
After the restoration of democratic rule in ChileChilean transition to democracy
The Chilean transition to democracy began when a Constitution establishing a transition itinerary was approved in a plebiscite. From March 11, 1981 to March 11, 1990, several organic constitutional laws were approved leading to the final restoration of democracy...
in 1991, the FPMR reduced its actions. It split into two parts: one which returned to seeking change through the political system, and another which continued to advocate armed struggle. The latter faction continued to commit kidnappings and robberies, including the murder of the Independent Democrat Union
Independent Democrat Union
The Independent Democrat Union is a Chilean right-wing, conservative political party, founded in 1983. Its main inspirer was the lawyer, politician and law professor Jaime Guzmán, a former senator of the Republic of Chile from 1990 until his assassination on April 1, 1991.Its ideological origins...
senator
Senate of Chile
The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile.-Composition:...
Jaime Guzmán
Jaime Guzmán
Jaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz was a Chilean lawyer and senator, member and doctrinal founder of the conservative Independent Democrat Union party. He opposed Marxist President Salvador Allende and later became a close advisor to dictator Augusto Pinochet. A professor of Constitutional Law, he...
on April 1, 1991. Other main targets included LDS churches, the kidnapping of Cristian Edwards, son of the owner of the nation's most prominent newspaper, El Mercurio
El Mercurio
El Mercurio is a conservative Chilean newspaper with editions in Valparaíso and Santiago. Its Santiago edition is considered the country's paper-of-record and its Valparaíso edition is the oldest daily in the Spanish language currently in circulation. El Mercurio is owned by El Mercurio S.A.P...
, and US businesses in Chile such as McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant franchises. After these operations, the FPMR ceased armed activities until 1996.
On December 30, 1996, the group organized the escape of various FMPR members imprisoned in the high security prison of Santiago de Chile, including Patricio Ortiz.
In 2002, a spin-out led to the creation of Identidad Rodriguista (IR).
In 2005 FPMR member Patricio Ortiz received political asylum in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He was sentenced in Chile to ten years of prison for the assassination of a police officer in 1991, during the beginning of the transition to democracy. Ortiz escaped from a Chilean prison in 1996, and reached Switzerland the following year. Following an extradition
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
request by Chile, he was detained by Swiss authorities, who later refused to extradite him as his physical integrity could not be assured (i.e. possibility of torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
: extraditing him would have violated article 3 of the European Convention of Human Rights ). Swiss authorities then freed him and granted him asylum. In 2007 the Socialist
Socialist Party of Chile
The Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...
President Michelle Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet
Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria is a Social Democrat politician who was President of Chile from 11 March 2006 to 11 March 2010. She was the first woman president of her country...
, who had been herself tortured by the army, criticized the political asylum given to Ortiz, which lifted indignation of human rights NGOs.