Carlos Francisco Toledo Plata (December 13, 1932 – August 10, 1984) was a Colombian doctor, politician, co-founder and early leader of the

guerrilla Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, Partisan (military), partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include Children in the military, recruite ...

movement known as

M-19 M19, M.19, or M-19 most commonly refers to: * May 19th Communist Organization (M19), an American far-left female-led terrorist group active during the 1970s–1980s * 19th of April Movement (M-19), a former Colombian guerrilla movement and political ...

, who also laid the basis for the movement's socialist platforms with his

Marxist Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflic ...

ideologies. He was also a Member of the

Colombian Chamber of Representatives The Chamber of Representatives (Spanish: ''Cámara de Representantes'') is the lower house of the Congress of Colombia. It has 172 members elected to four-year terms. Electoral system According to the Colombian Constitution, the Chamber of Re ...

for the electoral constituency of Santander and part of the

National Popular Alliance The National Popular Alliance or ANAPO (''Alianza Nacional Popular'') 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. Many ANAPO leaders and militants joi ...

party. In 1952 Toledo Plata moved to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

to study

Traumatology In medicine, traumatology (from Greek ''trauma'', meaning injury or wound) is the study of wounds and injuries caused by accidents or violence to a person, and the surgical therapy and repair of the damage. Traumatology is a branch of medicine. ...

. It was there that he became familiar with

Peronism Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, P ...

, which influenced his political outlook from then on, and where he trained with the Argentinian leftist group

Montoneros Montoneros (, MPM) was an Argentine far-left politics, far-left Peronism, Peronist, Camilism, Camilist and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic revolutionary Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla organization, which emerged in the 1970s during the "Argentine ...

Capture

After being persecuted by the

Colombian Military The Military Forces of Colombia () are the unified armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. They consist of the Colombian Army, the Colombian Navy and the Colombian Aerospace Force. The National Police of Colombia, although technically not part ...

in an attack that forced his unit to disperse, Toledo then managed to flee to

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

with the help of the Spanish reporter María Martín using a fake

Spanish passport A Spanish passport () is an identity document issued to Spanish citizens with right of abode in the Iberian mainland, Ceuta, Melilla, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands, for travel outside Spain. Every Spanish citizen is also a citizen of the ...

. Once in Ecuador, he tried to apply for

political asylum The right of asylum, sometimes called right of political asylum (''asylum'' ), is a juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereignty, sovereign authority, such as a second country or ...

, but was instead detained and handed over to the Colombian authorities. Once in Colombian custody he was imprisoned in La Picota, Toledo and fellow fighter

Álvaro Fayad Delgado Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists *Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwriter. ...

, were granted amnesty from the Government of President

Belisario Betancur Belisario Betancur Cuartas (4 February 1923 – 7 December 2018) was a Colombian politician who served as the List of Presidents of Colombia, 26th President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986. He was a member of the Colombian Conservative Party. His ...

in 1982, and Toledo was able to return to civil life.

Death

He was assassinated on August 10, 1984, in a surprise attack by two men on a motorcycle who met him just outside his home in the early hours of the morning, and shot him five times. The incident caused great tensions in the country, as it happened days before the signing of a Peace Accord between the Government and the M-19. The M-19 alluded the attack to the Military as a revenge killing for an attack on the Military the previous week by the M-19. The Government alluded the attack to other guerrilla groups, and those who were against the Peace Process. In retaliation, the M-19 commanded by Rosemberg Pabón launched a siege on the city on

Yumbo Yumbo is a small, industrial city and municipality in western Colombia. It is located in the Valle del Cauca Department, just north of Cali. In 2020, the municipality had a population of approximately 110,000. History Modern Yumbo was founded ...

, where they burned the office of the Mayor, and tried but failed to capture the police headquarters Although his death was a grave blow to the accord, the Government and the M-19 agreed to go ahead and sign the treaty, and even accelerated the event to prevent any complications.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toledo Plata, Carlos 1932 births 1984 deaths People from Santander Department 19th of April Movement members National Popular Alliance politicians Members of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia Colombian philanthropists Colombian physicians People murdered in Colombia Assassinated Colombian politicians 20th-century philanthropists 20th-century physicians South American politicians assassinated in the 1980s Politicians assassinated in 1984