Elena Quinteros (1945 - 1976)
Sun Sep 09, 1945
Elena Quinteros, born on this day in 1945, was an anarchist Uruguayan school teacher arrested and killed in 1976, during the rule of a U.S.-backed military dictatorship. Her death led to Venezuela severing diplomatic relations with the country.
After receiving training to become a teacher, Quinteros joined the Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (FAU), as well as the Student-worker Resistance (ROE), becoming active in the latter. Her activities were in the trade union field and she was part of the Socio-pedagogical Missions, an initiative launched by the lecturers from the Co-operative Rural Education Institute.
In 1976, Quinteros was arrested by the military dictatorship. While being escorted by her captors, Quinteros suddenly jumped over the wall of the Venezuelan Embassy, calling out her name and asking for sanctuary. The embassy staff attempted to help her, but her captors managed to thwart the escape.
A few days later, she was tortured and killed. Her kidnapping and murder grew into a major diplomatic incident that eventually culminated in Venezuela cutting off diplomatic relations with Uruguay.
In October 2002, Judge Eduardo Cavalli found former minister Juan Carlos Blanco primarily responsible for the disappearance of Elena Quinteros and had him arraigned on charges of deprivation of liberty.
- Date: 1945-09-09
- Learn More: libcom.org, www.memoria.org.uy, es.wikipedia.org.
- Tags: #Birthdays, #Anarchism.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org
