Camilo Alonso Vega (29 May 1889 – 1 July 1971) was a Spanish military officer and minister.

Early life

A childhood friend of Francisco Franco, as a Captain he entered in the Foreign Legion and fought in the

Rif War The Rif War () was an armed conflict fought from 1921 to 1926 between Spain (joined by France in 1924) and the Berber tribes of the mountainous Rif region of northern Morocco. Led by Abd el-Krim, the Riffians at first inflicted several de ...

. He was initially assigned as commander of the 9th machinegun company of the 3rd Bandera of the Legion. Later he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel of the Spanish Army in 1935 and full Colonel in December 1936 due to performance on the battlefield.

Spanish Civil War

In July 1936, he supported the 17–18 July ''coup d’etat'' and helped conquer Vitoria, the capital city of the province of Alava for the rebels. In December 1936, he led the defense of the town of Villareal against an offensive of the Basque forces. In March 1937 he was appointed as commander of the 4th Brigade of the newly organized Mola’s Navarrese division and, he led this brigade in the Biscay Campaign, in the

Battle of Brunete The Battle of Brunete (6–25 July 1937), fought west of Madrid, was a Republican attempt to alleviate the pressure exerted by the Nationalists on the capital and on the north during the Spanish Civil War. Although initially successful, the R ...

in July 1937, in the

Battle of Santander The Battle of Santander was a battle fought in the War in the North campaign of the Spanish Civil War during the summer of 1937. Santander's fall on 26 August assured the Nationalist conquest of the province of Santander, now Cantabria. The ba ...

in August, and in the

Aragon Offensive The Aragon Offensive was an important military campaign during the Spanish Civil War, which began after the Battle of Teruel. The offensive, which ran from March 7, 1938, to April 19, 1938, smashed the Republican forces, overran Aragon, and conqu ...

, and on April 15 he took the town of

Vinaròs Vinaròs () is a city located in eastern Spain and the capital of the Baix Maestrat in the province of Castelló. It is in the border between the Valencian Country and Catalonia. Vinaròs is a fishing harbour and tourist destination. History T ...

(in the

province of Castellón Castellón (officially in ca-valencia, Castelló) is a province in the northern part of the Valencian Community. It is bordered by the provinces of Valencia to the south, Teruel to the west, Tarragona to the north, and by the Mediterranean Sea ...

) cut in a half the Republican held zone. Later, he led a division in the

Battle of the Ebro The Battle of the Ebro ( es, Batalla del Ebro, ca, Batalla de l'Ebre) was the longest and largest battle of the Spanish Civil War and the greatest, in terms of manpower, logistics and material ever fought on Spanish soil. It took place between Ju ...

Francoist Spain

After the war in January 1940, he became Sub-Secretary of the Ministry of the Army, which included supervising of the

concentration camps Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...

and later the head of the Civil Guard (1943-1955). He was the Minister of the Interior of the Francoist Spain from 1956Preston, Paul. (1994). ''Franco.'' Fontana Press. London. p.740 to 1969. He retired from the military in 1959,: remaining as Minister of the Interior nonetheless. He led the opposition inside the francoist government against the

Fraga Fraga (; ) is the major town of the ''comarca'' of Bajo Cinca ( ca, Baix Cinca) in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca. According to the 2014 census, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) the municipality ...

's Press Law. In 1969 he crushed the university demonstrations, because of this, he was nicknamed ''Don Camulo'' by the students (a portmanteau of his given name and mule).

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vega, Camilo Alonso Spanish captain generals Spanish generals Spanish military personnel of the Spanish Civil War (National faction) 1889 births 1971 deaths People of the Rif War Interior ministers of Spain Government ministers during the Francoist dictatorship