The Chepo expedition was a pirate voyage led by Spanish renegades
Juan Guartem, Eduardo Blomar and
Bartolomé Charpes in the
Spanish Main
During the Spanish colonization of America, the Spanish Main was the collective term for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of Mexico. The term was used to di ...
during 1679. Sailing up the Mandinga River, the expedition crossed the
Isthmus of Panama into the Pacific where they raided shipping for several months as well as looting and then burning the town of
Chepo, Panama. They were
tried ''in absentia'' by the
Viceroy of Bogotá and on his orders were
burned in effigy at
Santa Fe de Bogotá
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...
. However, the three continued committing piracy on both coasts of
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
and were never caught for their crimes. This was the second major expedition following the "Pacific Adventure" led by
John Coxon that same year.
In an official communication by the
Governor of Panama
This article lists the heads of state of Panama since the short-lived first independence from the Republic of New Granada in 1840 and the final separation from Colombia in 1903.
Free State of the Isthmus (1840–1841)
Republic of Panama (1 ...
Don Dionicio Alceda in 1743, he recalled the incident writing ''"This passage was effected in the year 1679 by the arch pirates Juan Guartem, Eduardo Blomar and Bartolomé Charpes. These freebooters were tried for their crimes by audience of the viceroyalty, and as they could not be in person to suffer the just punishment, they were burned in effigy at Santa Fé (de Bogota), while they were yet ravaging the settlement on both sides the Isthmus"''.
[Scruggs, William L. ''The Colombian and Venezuelan Republics: With Notes on Other Parts of Central and South America''. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1905. (pg. 13)]
References
External links
Pirates and Buccaneers in Panama - Juan Guartem, Eduardo Blomar and Bartolomé Charpes{{Pirates
Piracy in the Pacific Ocean
1679
Piracy in the Caribbean
River and lake piracy