Rubens Florentino Vaz (March 17, 1922 – August 5, 1954) was a Brazilian military officer in the

Brazilian Air Force The Brazilian Air Force (, FAB) is the air branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces and one of the three national uniformed services. The FAB was formed when the Brazilian Brazilian Army Aviation (1919–1941), Army and Brazilian Naval Aviation, Nav ...

. He was shot and killed by then president

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; ; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 until his suicide in 1954. Due to his long and contr ...

's bodyguard

Gregório Fortunato Gregório Fortunato (24 January 1900 – 23 October 1962) was the head of the personal guard of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas. Fortunato was also known as , due to his size, physique and his black skin. Biography Fortunato was born on ...

in an attempt to assassinate

Carlos Lacerda Carlos Frederico Werneck de Lacerda (30 April 1914 – 21 May 1977) was a Brazilian journalist and politician. Biography Born in Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda was the son of a family of politicians from Vassouras, Rio de Janeiro state. He was the s ...

, one of the most prominent opposition voices to the Vargas presidency.

Life

He was born on 17 March 1922 to parents Joaquim Florentino Vaz Júnior and Zilda de Oliveira Vaz. In 1940 he went to Campo dos Afonsos in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

and completed his course in 1943. In 1954 he served in the Directorate of Air Routes, in

, when the opposition to the 2nd government of

intensified.

Death

He was shot during

Rua Tonelero shooting The Rua Tonelero shooting was a politically motivated attack which aimed to assassinate the journalist and politician Carlos Lacerda. The attack occurred on the night of August 5th, 1954, in front of Lacerda's residence at Rua Tonelero, 180, in Co ...

which was an assassination attempt on candidate for deputy and journalist

, when the latter, returning from a lecture, approached his apartment in the building located at

Rua Tonelero Tonelero is a street located in the neighborhood of Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro), Copacabana in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named after the Battle of the Tonelero Pass. The Siqueira Campos Station, Siqueira Campos and Cardeal Arcoverd ...

. The shots fired wounded

's foot and killed Major Rubens Vaz. The subsequent investigation indicated as the mastermind of the crime the head of the personal security of the then President of the Republic,

, nicknamed "The Black Angel". On the day of the crime, August 5, the protection of Carlos Lacerda was supposed to be done by Major Gustavo Borges, but due to the need to make a flight to complete the hours determined for the aviators, Major Vaz replaced him that night, doing his colleague a favor. Nineteen days after the shooting, on August 24, 1954,

committed suicide. Rubens Vaz was promoted ''post mortem'' twice: in 1954 and 1965. He was married to Lígia Figueiredo Vaz, with whom he had four children.

References

Assassinated Brazilian military personnel Deaths by firearm in Brazil Brazilian Air Force personnel Military personnel from Rio de Janeiro (city) {{DEFAULTSORT:Florentino Vaz, Rubens 1922 births 1954 deaths