Rafael Simón Urbina López (1897-13 November 1950) was a

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n rebel who fought against the dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez.

Biography

Early battles

Implicated in a 1919 conspiracy to overthrow President Gómez, he spent four years participating in

guerrilla warfare Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...

from the mountains of his native Falcón State. He went into exile in 1923, in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of the Atlántico department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean region of Colombia, Caribbean coast region; as of 2018, it had a popul ...

, before returning in 1925, following an amnesty. A new attempt to overthrow Gómez in 1928 saw Urbina deported to Barranquilla, where he was imprisoned pending extradition, but escaped. In 1929, he led the taking of

Fort Amsterdam Fort Amsterdam, (later, Fort George among other names) was a fortification on the southern tip of Manhattan Island at the confluence of the Hudson River, Hudson and East River, East rivers in what is now New York City. The fort and the island ...

Curaçao Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela. Curaçao includ ...

and the kidnapping of the Dutch governor, , in another failed attempt to overthrow Gómez involving 250 men with the support of Venezuelan communists, including Gustavo Machado Morales and Miguel Otero Silva. They plundered weapons, ammunition and the treasury of the island and hauled the governor off to Venezuela on the stolen American ship ''Maracaibo''. The revolutionaries landed at La Vela de Coro (Falcón State), but were defeated by Gómez forces led by General Leon Jurado and the raid ended in failure. In 1930, exiled in Mexico, Urbina established relations with personalities like General Saturnino Cedillo, General Perez Treviño and General Arturo Bernal, who offered to support his plans for a new invasion of Venezuela. In October 1931, along with 137 Mexican braceros and eight Venezuelans, he landed at Puerto Gutiérrez (Falcón State) and captured the city of Capatárida before being defeated once more by the troops of general Leon Jurado, after which he fled the country again.

Return to Venezuela and kidnappings

Urbina returned to Venezuela in 1936, offering his services to Eleazar López Contreras, including the denunciation of communists such as his former associate Machado. He opposed the 1945 Venezuelan coup d'état and after seeking asylum in the

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

an embassy, went into exile in Barranquilla and

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, where he sought the help of

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo in planning another invasion of Venezuela. He returned to Venezuela following the 1948 Venezuelan coup d'état and unsuccessfully requested the return of his assets, which had been confiscated in 1945. On 13 November 1950, he was involved in the failed kidnapping of Venezuelan President

Carlos Delgado Chalbaud Carlos Román Delgado Gómez (20 January 1909 – 13 November 1950) was a Venezuelan military officer who served as president of Venezuela from 1948 to 1950 as leader of a Military dictatorship, military junta. In 1945, he was one of the high- ...

, which resulted with the death of Delgado and Urbina's accidental leg shooting in that failed event from which he fled seeking exile in Nicaragua. The Venezuelan government was informed of this and forced the Nicaraguan embassy to hand over Urbina for the murder of Delgado and was murdered that night during a transfer from one prison to another. Subsequently, Marcos Pérez Jiménez rose as ruler of Venezuela. venezuelatuya.com
Rafael Simón Urbina
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References

1897 births 1950 deaths Venezuelan people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in Venezuelan detention People from Falcón Assassins of presidents Venezuelan guerrillas Opposition to Juan Vicente Gómez {{Venezuela-bio-stub

Biography

Early battles

Return to Venezuela and kidnappings

See also

References