Manuel Marulanda

Manuel Marulanda Vélez

Manuel Marulanda Vélez , alias Tirofijo (Spanish: "Safe shot"), fighting name of Pedro Antonio Marín (* probably May 12, 1928 in Génova , Quindío , Colombia ; † March 26, 2008 ) was the leader of the Colombian guerrilla group FARC and the oldest Guerrilla leaders of the world. The exact date of birth is not certain. Tirofijo stated in interviews that he was probably born in 1930.

Marulanda was the oldest of five sons in a liberal farming family. After attending elementary school, he took on various simple jobs.

During the Violencia , the violent confrontation between liberals and conservatives after the assassination of the presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán in 1948, Marulanda initially fought on the side of the liberals. In the course of time he made contact with guerrilla groups influenced by the Communist Party who fought more offensively against the conservatives. During this time he took the name of a murdered union leader, Manuel Marulanda , and befriended Luis Morantes (aka Jacobo Arenas ), a cadre of the Communist Party.

Towards the end of the Violencia , Marulanda was one of the founders of the " Independent Republic of Marquetalia ", a community of mainly liberal peasants who questioned the legitimacy of the Colombian state and its army.

After the end of the Gustavo Rojas Pinillas dictatorship in 1957 and the National Front Agreement between the Liberal and Conservative Parties, the new Colombian government viewed the “independent republics” as a danger. After pressure from Conservative MPs in Congress and the United States , the Colombian Army attacked Marquetalia in May 1964 .

At a meeting held by the survivors on May 27, 1964 , it was decided to found a guerrilla organization under the leadership of Marulandas and Jacobo Arenas . In the same year, the two founded the Bloque Sur ("South Block"), from which the FARC was formed in 1964.

Marulanda headed the FARC until his death; He received his nickname Tirofijo because of his safe handling of firearms. One of his daughters, Olga Marín, was married to Raúl Reyes , who was number two in the FARC until his death on March 1, 2008.

According to the FARC, Marulanda died on March 26, 2008 of complications from a heart attack. The Colombian Defense Minister Santos speculated at a press conference that he also considered fighting as a possible cause of death. His successor was Guillermo León Sáenz alias Alfonso Cano . In the “ 23 de Enero ” district of the Venezuelan capital Caracas , a memorial bust was erected on September 27, 2008 in honor of the late FARC boss. The struggle and decency of the FARC were recognized in a commemorative speech.

literature

• Various authors: Manuel Marulanda: A revolutionary hero from Colombia. , Zambon, Frankfurt 2013, ISBN 978-3889752062

Individual evidence

1. ^ FARC leader Manuel Marulanda. CNN, accessed on May 25, 2008 : " Manuel Marulanda Velez - the legendary mastermind of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) - is the world's oldest guerrilla leader " 
2. ↑ Colombia reports the death of a legendary rebel leader. In: Spiegel-Online. AFP, May 25, 2008, accessed May 27, 2008 . 
3. ^ Tes El Gobierno colombiano duda de que 'Tirofijo' muriera de un infarto . In: elpais.com. Retrieved May 26, 2008 . 
4. ^ FARC confirma muerte líder guerrillero Manuel Marulanda . (No longer available online.) In: teleSUR. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012 ; Retrieved May 25, 2008 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ abc.es : Caracas dedica una plaza y un busto al fallecido líder de las FARC, “Tirofijo” of September 28, 2008