The Machurucuto raid (), also known as the invasion of Machurucuto (), was a battle involving the

Venezuelan Army The Bolivarian Army of Venezuela (), is the land arm of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela. Also known as Bolivarian Army (''Ejército Bolivariano'', EB), its role is to be responsible for land-based operations against external o ...

and

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

troops against

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

n trained guerrillas. On 8 May 1967, a dozen guerrillas landed in Venezuela near the coastal town of Machurucuto, with one of them drowning. Venezuelan authorities engaged three of them on the night of 10 May and the battle lasted into 11 May, killing one and capturing the other two. The remaining eight linked up with guerrillas in the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

who were attempting to overthrow President

Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Otero (26 April 1905 – 5 July 1972) was the president of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He was a member of the Generation of 1928 and a charter member of the Acción Democrática party, and the first Labor minister of Venezuela ...

Events

Landing

On 8 May, four Cuban and eight Venezuelan guerrillas sailed into Venezuelan territorial waters in a warship disguised as a fishing boat, disembarking on two rafts once close enough to the coast. They brought with them

AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...

s and 10,000 in both

U.S. dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

s and

Venezuelan bolívar The bolívar is the official currency of Venezuela. Named after the hero of South American independence Simón Bolívar, it was introduced by President Antonio Guzmán Blanco, Guzman Blanco via the monetary reform of 1879, before which the Vene ...

s, which they planned to hand over to Revolutionary Left Movement forces stationed in the Andes who were attempting to overthrow the Venezuelan government. Once they landed, the Venezuelans set off to the east, while the Cubans headed back to the warship. However, their raft capsized on the way back, leading to one of them (later identified as Lt. Pico) drowning and forcing the other three to swim to shore.

Confrontation

Local fishermen found one of the guerillas' rafts and notified the armed forces. On the evening of 10 May, troops found the three Cubans, commencing a battle which ended the following day. Two were captured; Venezuelan authorities stated the contingent's leader, Antonio Briones Montoto, was killed while trying to escape, but the Cuban government has disputed this, claiming he was covertly executed after the fact. The eight Venezuelans managed to evade capture for 100 days and eventually reach friendly territory.

Aftermath

The two captured Cubans, Manuel Gil Castellanos and Pedro Cabrera Torres, wrote signed confessions detailing the raid. President

held a conference soon after, where they were shown off to the press. Both of them committed suicide in prison. Venezuela decided to abstain from invoking the

Rio Pact The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly known as the Rio Treaty, the Rio Pact, the Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance, or by the Spanish-language acronym TIAR from ''Tratado Interamericano de Asistencia Recíproca'') is an inter ...

, instead denouncing Cuba and requesting a meeting with the

Organization of American States The Organization of American States (OAS or OEA; ; ; ) is an international organization founded on 30 April 1948 to promote cooperation among its member states within the Americas. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, the OAS is ...

on 15 May. The

Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) is the highest organ between two congresses. History The Central Committee was established on 3 October 1965 when the United Party of the Cuban Socialist Revolution was transformed int ...

responded on 18 May, stating in a lengthy document that they did aid the guerrillas and that " at is decided in Washington by the OAS and its master does not matter." The Revolutionary Left Movement ceased its insurgency in 1969 and became a political party. Dissidents within the group formed splinter movements which continued guerrilla activities, but "their subversive activities shr k to a minimum" during the 1970's.

References

{{coord missing, Venezuela Battles involving Venezuela Fidel Castro Battles involving Cuba 1967 in Cuba 1967 in Venezuela Cuba–Venezuela relations Conflicts in 1967

Events

Landing

Confrontation

Aftermath

See also

References