The Iberian Revolutionary Liberation Directory (DRIL; ''Directorio Revolucionario Ibérico de Liberación'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

Galician language Galician ( , ), also known as Galego (), is a Iberian Romance languages, Western Ibero-Romance language. Around 2.4 million people have at least some degree of competence in the language, mainly in Galicia (Spain), Galicia, an Autonomo ...

or ''Directório Revolucionário Ibérico de Libertação'' in Portuguese) was an armed organization formed by

Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance-speaking ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern nation-state of Spain. Genetically and ethnolinguistically, Spaniards belong to the broader Southern a ...

(mainly

Galicians Galicians ( or ''pobo galego''; ) are an ethnic group primarily residing in Galicia, northwest Iberian Peninsula. Historical emigration resulted in populations in other parts of Spain, Europe, and the Americas. Galicians possess distinct cu ...

) and Portuguese opponents of the Iberian dictatorships. The organization had two general secretaries:

Humberto Delgado Humberto da Silva Delgado (Portuguese pronunciation: �ˈbɛɾtu dɛɫˈɡadu 15 May 1906 – 13 February 1965) was a General of the Portuguese Air Force, diplomat and politician. Early life and military career Delgado was born in Brogueira, To ...

(Portuguese) and Xosé Velo Mosquera (Galician).

History

The first action of the DRIL was in February 1960, consisting of several bomb attacks in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. A member of the DRIL, José Ramón Pérez Jurado, died during this action due to the explosion of one of the artifacts. His companion Antonio Abad Donoso was arrested and, although none of the explosions produced any victims, was sentenced to death and executed on 8 March of the same year.Cardona, Gabriel (2009).
La invasión de las suecas: de la España de la boina a la España del bikini
'. Ariel. p. 101. . The most famous action of the DRIL was the

Santa Maria hijacking The ''Santa Maria'' hijacking was carried out on 22 January 1961 when Portuguese and Spanish political rebels seized control of a Portuguese passenger ship, aiming to force political change in Portugal. The action was also known as Operation Du ...

, in 1961. DRIL militants seized control of Santa Maria, a 609-foot-long (186 m), 20,900-ton Portuguese luxury cruise liner. After talks with the Brazilian government, led by

Jânio Quadros Jânio da Silva Quadros (; 25 January 1917 – 16 February 1992) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd president of Brazil from 31 January to 25 August 1961, when he resigned from office. He also served as the 24th a ...

, DRIL members laid down their guns and drove the ship to

Recife Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...

in exchange for receiving

political refugee 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 sovereign authority, such as a second country or another enti ...

status. The ship was returned to its owners of the Portuguese Company ''Colonial de Navegação''. The organization continued to carry sporadic attacks between 1961 and 1964, when the organization dissolved.

References

{{reflist * Xurxo Martínez Crespo
''O Directorio Revolucionario Ibérico de Liberación (DRIL)''.
Fesga, 2011. * Armando Recio García:
El secuestro del Santa María en la prensa del régimen franquista
'. Revista Historia y Comunicación Social, 2005, vol. 10 (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) Left-wing militant groups in Spain Organizations established in 1958 Organizations disestablished in 1964 Anti-Francoism 1958 establishments in Spain