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Revolutionary Movement Tupamaro ( es, Movimiento Revolucionario Tupamaro, MRT), often shortened to Tupamaro, is a
far-left Far-left politics, also known as the radical left or the extreme left, are politics further to the left on the left–right political spectrum than the standard political left. The term does not have a single definition. Some scholars conside ...
Marxist-Leninist
communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
and one of the most prominent
colectivos ''Colectivo'' (English: collective bus) is the name given in Argentina, Colombia, Chile and Paraguay to a type of public transportation vehicle, especially those of Argentina's capital city, Buenos Aires. The name comes from ''vehículos de tran ...
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, abbreviated as 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 ...
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 that took the name of Tupac Amaru, the last
Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
n leader of
Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...
who was executed by Spanish authorities in 1572 for opposing colonial rule. In the 1970s and 1980s, then future members of the Tupamaros were allegedly gaining experience by partaking 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 who was president of Venezuela from 1999 until his death in 2013, except for a brief period in 2002. Chávez was also leader of the Fifth Republ ...
, who was imprisoned for the 1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts. Chávez and the Tupamaros then allegedly made a deal since Chávez needed protection and the Tupamaros needed resources. With emergence of Hugo Chávez as
President of Venezuela The president of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de Venezuela), officially known as the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is the head of state and head of government in Ven ...
consolidated its disparities in support of the then new Movement for the Fifth Republic president. Nevertheless, throughout their existence, the ideological basis of the movement began to deteriorate. As it stood in the first decade of the twenty-first century denunciations of the group from many forces in the country, with respect to the conduct of this group and its members, was ever present, specifically because of alleged attacks on student movements that are not in agreement 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 ( es, link=no, Carlos el Chacal) or simply Carlos, is a Venezuelan convicted of terrorist crimes, and currently serving a life sentence in France for the 1975 murder ...
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 group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...
" and that they use claims like "helping the oppressed peoples" as a ploy that he describes as similar "to
Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...
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 death squad is an armed group whose primary activity is carrying out extrajudicial killings or forced disappearances as part of political repression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, or revolutionary terror. Except in rare cases in which they are f ...
. 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 Chavez's political opposition, but they also reinforce an imposing image that critics call a tool of intimidation against Chavez'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 northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on t ...
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 A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flammab ...
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, 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 has p ...
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 ( es, Guardia Nacional Bolivariana de Venezuela - GNB), is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The national guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, ...
to attack protesters that opposed the Bolivarian government.


References

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