Tupamaro (Venezuela)
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Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro (, MRT), often shortened to Tupamaro, is a far-left Marxist-Leninist communist party and one of the most prominent colectivos in Venezuela. Several Tupamaros participate in peaceful movements while some believe in the "idea of armed struggle as a means to gain power." The group supports the National Liberation Army (ELN) and allegedly had ties with Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).


History

After the end of the dictatorship of General Marcos Perez Jimenez, the
Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
area known as " el 23 de Enero" that was occupied by his wealthy officials was then taken over by poor squatters. Since then, the area has been described as a "hot bed of radicalism" and that residents have "a resistance mentality". When the Tupamaro in Uruguay were being targeted by the Uruguayan government, some of the Uruguayan members supposedly settled "el 23 de Enero". The Venezuelan Tupamaros have at least ideological links to the Tupamaros in Uruguay, who took the name of Tupac Amaru, the last
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
n leader of
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
, who was executed by Spanish authorities in 1572 for opposing colonial rule. In the 1970s and 1980s, people who would later join the Tupamaros were allegedly taking part in guerrilla activities and performing vigilante actions during a period of rising crime in Venezuela.


Founding

The Tupamaros were officially founded in 1992 and allegedly had the chance in prison to come into contact with
Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...
, who was imprisoned for the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts. Chávez and the Tupamaros allegedly made a deal since Chávez needed protection and the Tupamaros needed resources. The election of Hugo Chávez as President of Venezuela resulted in the consolidation of former opposition groups in support of the new Movement for the Fifth Republic president. The ideological basis of the movement began to deteriorate. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, the group was denounced by interests and stakeholders who disapproved of its actions, specifically alleged attacks on student movements that did not agree with Hugo Chávez.


Leadership

The original leader of the Tupamaros was Jose Pinto, who was the General Secretary of the MRT. Alberto "Chino" Carías is the current leader of the Tupamaros and calls himself "a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla fighter". He states that he keeps contact with
Carlos the Jackal Ilich Ramírez Sánchez (; born 12 October 1949), also known as Carlos the Jackal () or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convict who conducted a series of assassinations and terrorist bombings from 1973 to 1985. A committed Marxist–Leninist, ...
and "has lost count of how many people he's murdered", saying "after ten urdersyou stop feeling remorse".


Social work

With the emergence of Chavez as president, the group also cooperated with the state in administering social programs and promoting political participation. It is involved in after-school programs to keep children out of trouble, child care centers, puppet shows, drug rehabilitation and sports programs. A Tupamaro leader known as Chino, said of the group that "Our greatest accomplishment is having been able to change things through elections." According to Dr. George W. Knox, executive director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, the Tupamaros are a "
gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...
" and that they use claims like "helping the oppressed peoples" as a ploy that he describes as similar "to Al Capone offering free soup to Chicago's poor".


Neighborhood actions

The group has refused to renounce use of arms to protect communities considered too dangerous even for police officers. In one such example in the high-crime 23 de Enero neighborhood in western Caracas, thieves, muggers or drug dealers who operate in the area run the risk of being executed by Tupamaros patrolling on motorcycles in death squads. A Tupamaro member known as "Mao" insisted neighbourhood criminals are given ample warning before facing execution. "First we give them a warning to get out of the area. If they don't listen, we see them again, this time with 10 of our comrades. If they fail to understand the message, we take matters into our own hands." Though, once again the masks they wear are said to ward off possible retribution from criminals, police or Chávez's political opposition, but they also reinforce an imposing image that critics call a tool of intimidation against Chávez's political opposition. Some have claimed that the Tupamaros execute such criminals because they are competition and they want to have control.


Political violence

Luis Milan, a political science professor at Bolivarian University talked about a riot that began when police opened fire. With the arrival of more Tupamaros to the aid their comrades police, then, asked for military support, signifying the growing potency of the group. He added that "They are becoming a legitimate party, they are participating in the political process. It's a different time now."


Court decisions

On 8 August 2002, four military officers were being tried for rebellion following the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) delayed the trial of the officers since judges could not agree on judgements. Following this, President Chávez gave a strong speech on
Margarita Island Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the States of Venezuela, Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the north west coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the ...
in a "pre-April 11 fashion" calling for supporters to defend "to be ready, at all moments, to defend the Revolution against anyone" while also making statements on not putting pressure on the TSJ judgements. Tupamaros then allegedly attacked a police convoy with high-caliber weapons in a slum area which left one officer dead, one injured and an additional four civilian casualties. Chávez supporters also began to protest in Caracas, closing the street in front of the TSJ and burning tires and another four police officers were reported injured. Tupamaros had also reportedly blocked streets and subways and began to throw Molotov cocktails at police vehicles.


Elections

Ismach Leon, a campaign manager for the opposition party First Justice said, "The Tupamaros began following me to get me out of Coche (a Caracas slum) because I was campaigning for (conservative candidate) Julio Borges." Near the conclusion of the
2012 Venezuelan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Venezuela on 7 October 2012 to choose a president for a six-year term beginning in January 2013. After the 2009 Venezuelan constitutional referendum, approval of a Constitution of Venezuela, constitutional ame ...
, Tupamaros leader Alberto Carías stated that if the Venezuelan opposition did not accept a "sure victory" by Hugo Chávez, "that there would 'bullets'". He also stated that the group was "prepared and well armed" and would attack any opposition group that protested.


Foreign diplomats

In April 2006 following an event where United States Ambassador
William Brownfield William Rivington Brownfield (born 1952) is a Career Ambassador in the United States Foreign Service and the former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs as of January 10, 2011. He ha ...
donated baseball equipment to a poor community in Caracas, Brownfield's convoy was hit, kicked and pelted with objects. The convoy was allegedly attack organized by the Tupamaros with some shouts supposedly heard at the time involving the word "Tupamaros".


Protests

It was alleged that during the 2014–15 Venezuelan protests, Tupamaros worked with the
Venezuelan National Guard The Bolivarian National Guard of Venezuela ( - GNB), is a gendarmerie component of the National Bolivarian Armed Forces of Venezuela, National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or ...
to attack protesters that opposed the Bolivarian government.


References

{{Venezuelan political parties 1992 establishments in Venezuela Communist militant groups Communist parties in Venezuela Crisis in Venezuela Far-left political parties in Venezuela Intervened political parties in Venezuela Marxist parties Organizations of the Bolivarian Revolution Political parties established in 1992 Political parties in Venezuela