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{{Short description|Battle}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Machurucuto incident
| conflict = Machurucuto raid
| image =
| image = {{Location map many |Venezuela
| width = 300
| date = 8 May 1967 - 11 May 1967
| float = center
⚫
| place = [[Machurucuto]], 70 miles east of Caracas, [[Venezuela]]
| caption =
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| result = Venezuelan government victory
| label = Machurucuto
| combatant1 = {{flag|Cuba}} <br> [[Image:Flag of Venezuela.svg|22px]] [[Venezuela]]n rebels
| pos = right
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| combatant2 = [[Image:Flag of Venezuela.svg|22px]] Venezuelan National Guard <BR> [[Image:Flag of Venezuela.svg|22px]] [[Army of Venezuela]]
| strength1 = 12
| marksize = 8
| strength2 = 200-300?
| lat_deg = 10.2
| lon_deg = -65.633333
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| casualties1 = 10 dead <BR> 2 captured
⚫
| casualties2 = unknown|caption
}}
}}
| date = 8 May 1967 – 11 May 1967 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|day1=8|month1=5|year1=1967|day2=11|month2=5|year2=1967|duration=no}})
The '''Machurucuto incident''', also known as the '''Invasion of Machurucuto''', was a battle involving [[Venezuelan Army]] and [[Venezuelan National Guard|National Guard]] troops against [[Cuba]]n trained guerrillas. On 10 May 1967, a dozen guerrillas landed in Venezuela at the beach of Machurucuto. The Army of Venezuela and the National Guard engaged them on the night of 10 May and the battle lasted into 11 May. Two men were captured while the remaining were killed in battle. The guerrillas had completed paramilitary training in Cuba so they could recruit guerrillas in the Venezuelan Andes region to overthrow President [[Raul Leoni]].<ref>''[[Time (magazine)|TIME]]'', 19 May 1967, [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840892-1,00.html Latin America: Castro's Targets]</ref>
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| place = [[Machurucuto]], [[Venezuela]]
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| result = Venezuelan government victory
| combatant1 = {{flagicon image|}} [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Venezuela)|Revolutionary Left Movement]]<br>{{flag|Cuba}}n guerrillas<br>''' Supported by: ''' <br>{{flag|Cuba}}
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| combatant2 = {{flag|Venezuela|1954}}n [[Venezuela National Guard|National Guard]] <BR> {{flag|Venezuela|1954}}n [[Army of Venezuela|Army]]
| strength1 = 12
| strength2 = 200–300
⚫
| casualties1 = 2 dead <BR> 2 captured
⚫
| casualties2 = Unknown
| commander1 = [[Fidel Castro]]
| commander2 = [[Raúl Leoni]]
}}
The '''Machurucuto raid''' ({{Lang-es|desembarco de Machurucuto|lit=Machurucuto disembarking}}), also known as the '''invasion of Machurucuto''' ({{Lang-es|invasión de Machurucuto}}), was a battle involving the [[Venezuelan Army]] and [[Venezuelan National Guard|National Guard]] troops against [[Cuba]]n trained guerrillas.


On 8 May 1967, a dozen guerrillas landed in Venezuela near the coastal town of [[Machurucuto]], with one of them drowning. Venezuelan authorities engaged three of them on the night of 10 May and the battle lasted into 11 May, killing one and capturing the other two. The remaining eight linked up with guerrillas in the [[Andes]] who were attempting to overthrow President [[Raúl Leoni]].
⚫
== Landing ==
On 8 May, twelve guerrillas arrived on the coast of Machurucuto in two rafts. While preparing to land one of the rafts capsized drowning one guerrilla. The rest disembarked on the coast and abandoned their rafts.


== Battle ==
== Events ==
A fisherman spotted the two rafts and notified the armed forces. They discovered and engaged the guerrillas on the evening of 10 May and the battle lasted until the morning of 11 May. In the fighting, ten guerrillas were killed and two captured; Venezuelan casualties are unknown.


⚫
=== Landing ===
On 8 May, four Cuban and eight Venezuelan guerrillas sailed into Venezuelan territorial waters in a warship disguised as a fishing boat, disembarking on two rafts once close enough to the coast.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Bermudez |first=Angel |date=16 February 2019 |title=Cómo fue el "desembarco de Machurucuto"? El intento de intervención militar en Venezuela ideado en Cuba por Fidel Castro |trans-title=What was the "Machurucuto disembarking" like? The attempted military intervention in Venezuela planned in Cuba by Fidel Castro |url=https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-47263573 |access-date=2024-08-03 |work=[[BBC Mundo|BBC News Mundo]] |language=es}}</ref> They brought with them [[AK-47]]s and 10,000 in both [[U.S. dollar]]s and [[Venezuelan bolívar]]s, which they planned to hand over to [[Revolutionary Left Movement (Venezuela)|Revolutionary Left Movement]] forces stationed in the Andes who were attempting to overthrow the Venezuelan government.<ref name="bae2">{{Cite web |last=Corzo |first=Pedro |date=2019-05-03 |title=Invasión de Machurucuto, el primer intento cubano de subvertir la democracia venezolana |trans-title=The invasion of Machurucuto, the first Cuban attempt to subvert Venezuelan democracy |url=https://www.infobae.com/opinion/2019/05/03/invasion-de-machurucuto-el-primer-intento-cubano-de-subvertir-la-democracia-venezolana/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221125135908/https://www.infobae.com/opinion/2019/05/03/invasion-de-machurucuto-el-primer-intento-cubano-de-subvertir-la-democracia-venezolana/ |archive-date=25 November 2022 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=[[Infobae]] |language=es}}</ref>

Once they landed, the Venezuelans set off to the east, while the Cubans headed back to the warship.<ref name=":1" /> However, their raft capsized on the way back, leading to one of them (later identified as Lt. Pico<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=13 May 1967 |title=Venezuela Smashes Cuban-led Landing, Seize Castro's Men |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pwFIAAAAIBAJ&dq=Machurucuto&pg=PA1&article_id=1527,1775923 |access-date=2 August 2024 |work=[[The Morning Record]] |pages=1 |via=[[Google Newspapers]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref>) drowning and forcing the other three to swim to shore.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Ríoseco López-Trigo |first=Pedro |date=9 May 2022 |title=Antonio Briones Montoto, a 55 años de su muerte por la libertad de Venezuela |trans-title=Antonio Briones Montoto, 55 years after his death for the freedom of Venezuela |url=https://www.granma.cu/cuba/2022-05-09/antonio-briones-montoto-a-55-anos-de-su-muerte-por-la-libertad-de-venezuela-09-05-2022-18-05-35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220510012612/https://www.granma.cu/cuba/2022-05-09/antonio-briones-montoto-a-55-anos-de-su-muerte-por-la-libertad-de-venezuela-09-05-2022-18-05-35 |archive-date=10 May 2022 |access-date=3 August 2024 |work=[[Granma (newspaper)|Granma]] |language=es}}</ref>

=== Confrontation ===
Local fishermen found one of the guerillas' rafts and notified the armed forces.<ref name=":3">{{Cite magazine |last= |date=1967-05-19 |title=Latin America: Castro's Targets |url=https://time.com/archive/6634985/latin-america-castros-targets/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240803041646/https://time.com/archive/6634985/latin-america-castros-targets/ |archive-date=3 August 2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |magazine=[[TIME]] |language=en}}</ref> On the evening of 10 May, troops found the three Cubans, commencing a battle which ended the following day.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Boersner |first=Demetrio |date=31 August 2001 |title=Desembarco cubano en Machurucuto, 1967 |trans-title=Cuban disembarking in Machurucuto, 1967 |url=https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/guerrilla/machurucuto.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240410055216/https://www.latinamericanstudies.org/guerrilla/machurucuto.htm |archive-date=10 April 2024 |access-date=2024-08-03 |website=[[Tal Cual]] |language=es |via=Latin American Studies}}</ref> Two were captured;<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> Venezuelan authorities stated the contingent's leader, Antonio Briones Montoto, was killed while trying to escape,<ref name="bae2" /><ref name=":0" /> but the Cuban government has disputed this, claiming he was covertly executed after the fact.<ref name=":2" />

The eight Venezuelans managed to evade capture for 100 days and eventually reach friendly territory.<ref name=":1" />
== Aftermath ==
== Aftermath ==
The two captured Cubans, Manuel Gil Castellanos and Pedro Cabrera Torres, wrote signed confessions detailing the raid. President [[Raúl Leoni]] held a conference soon after, where they were shown off to the press.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> Both of them committed suicide in prison.<ref name="bae2" />
Soon after, the government of President Raul Leoni held a press conference denouncing Cuban aggression against Venezuela and showing the two captured Cubans, Manuel Gil Castellanos and Pedro Cabrera Torres. Cuba was denounced by Venezuela to the [[Organization of American States|OAS]]. Cuba did not recognize the action even when the investigation of the [[AK47]]s in possession of the guerrillas were identified as weapons sold by [[Czechoslovakia]] to Cuba. The Government of Venezuela broke all relations with Cuba following the incident and with further relations not occurring until 1974.

Venezuela decided to abstain from invoking the [[Rio Pact]], instead denouncing Cuba and requesting a meeting with the [[Organization of American States]] on 15 May.<ref name=":4" /> The [[Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba]] responded on 18 May, stating in a lengthy document that they did aid the guerrillas and that "[w]hat is decided in Washington by the OAS and its master does not matter."<ref>{{Cite news |date=12 June 1967 |title=Cuba's Answer to Venezuelan Charges of 'Intervention' |url=https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/themilitant/1967/v31n24-jun-12-1967-mil.pdf |access-date=3 August 2024 |work=[[The Militant]] |pages=4–5 |via=[[Marxists Internet Archive]]}}</ref>

The Revolutionary Left Movement ceased its insurgency in 1969 and became a political party.<ref name=":1" /> Dissidents within the group formed splinter movements which continued guerrilla activities, but "their subversive activities shr[u]nk to a minimum" during the 1970's.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Presutto |first=Fredy |date=6 May 1993 |title=Lessons Learned by Venezuela Fighting in Low Intensity Conflict |url=https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA263614.pdf |access-date=3 August 2024 |website=[[United States Army War College]] |page=9}}</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Operation Gideon (2020)]]
*[[Cuba–Venezuela relations]]


== Notes ==
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


{{Raúl Leoni}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,840892-1,00.html ''Time'' Magazine's Article "Castro's Targets"]
*[http://www.notitarde.com/tangente/tangente5.html Machurucuto: historia de una invasión La intervención cubana en Venezuela] {{es icon}}
*[http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/guerrilla/machurucuto.htm Desembarco cubano en Machurucuto, 1967] {{es icon}}
{{Fidel Castro}}
{{Fidel Castro}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}}


{{coord missing|Venezuela}}
{{coord missing|Venezuela}}


[[Category:History of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Battles involving Venezuela]]
[[Category:Fidel Castro]]
[[Category:Fidel Castro]]
[[Category:History of Cuba]]
[[Category:Battles involving Cuba]]
[[Category:1967 in Cuba]]
[[Category:1967 in Cuba]]
[[Category:1967 in Venezuela]]
[[Category:1967 in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Cuba–Venezuela relations]]
[[Category:Cuba–Venezuela relations]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1967]]

Latest revision as of 17:00, 26 August 2024

Machurucuto raid
Machurucuto raid is located in Venezuela
Machurucuto
Machurucuto
Date8 May 1967 – 11 May 1967 (3 days)
Location
Machurucuto, Venezuela
Result Venezuelan government victory
Belligerents
Revolutionary Left Movement
 Cuban guerrillas
Supported by:
 Cuba		  Venezuelan National Guard
 Venezuelan Army
Commanders and leaders
Fidel Castro Raúl Leoni
Strength
12 200–300
Casualties and losses
2 dead
2 captured		 Unknown

The Machurucuto raid (Spanish: desembarco de Machurucuto, lit. 'Machurucuto disembarking'), also known as the invasion of Machurucuto (Spanish: invasión de Machurucuto), was a battle involving the Venezuelan Army and National Guard troops against Cuban trained guerrillas.

On 8 May 1967, a dozen guerrillas landed in Venezuela near the coastal town of Machurucuto, with one of them drowning. Venezuelan authorities engaged three of them on the night of 10 May and the battle lasted into 11 May, killing one and capturing the other two. The remaining eight linked up with guerrillas in the Andes who were attempting to overthrow President Raúl Leoni.

Events

[edit]

Landing

[edit]

On 8 May, four Cuban and eight Venezuelan guerrillas sailed into Venezuelan territorial waters in a warship disguised as a fishing boat, disembarking on two rafts once close enough to the coast.[1] They brought with them AK-47s and 10,000 in both U.S. dollars and Venezuelan bolívars, which they planned to hand over to Revolutionary Left Movement forces stationed in the Andes who were attempting to overthrow the Venezuelan government.[2]

Once they landed, the Venezuelans set off to the east, while the Cubans headed back to the warship.[1] However, their raft capsized on the way back, leading to one of them (later identified as Lt. Pico[3]) drowning and forcing the other three to swim to shore.[4]

Confrontation

[edit]

Local fishermen found one of the guerillas' rafts and notified the armed forces.[5] On the evening of 10 May, troops found the three Cubans, commencing a battle which ended the following day.[6] Two were captured;[1][5] Venezuelan authorities stated the contingent's leader, Antonio Briones Montoto, was killed while trying to escape,[2][3] but the Cuban government has disputed this, claiming he was covertly executed after the fact.[4]

The eight Venezuelans managed to evade capture for 100 days and eventually reach friendly territory.[1]

Aftermath

[edit]

The two captured Cubans, Manuel Gil Castellanos and Pedro Cabrera Torres, wrote signed confessions detailing the raid. President Raúl Leoni held a conference soon after, where they were shown off to the press.[3][5] Both of them committed suicide in prison.[2]

Venezuela decided to abstain from invoking the Rio Pact, instead denouncing Cuba and requesting a meeting with the Organization of American States on 15 May.[6] The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba responded on 18 May, stating in a lengthy document that they did aid the guerrillas and that "[w]hat is decided in Washington by the OAS and its master does not matter."[7]

The Revolutionary Left Movement ceased its insurgency in 1969 and became a political party.[1] Dissidents within the group formed splinter movements which continued guerrilla activities, but "their subversive activities shr[u]nk to a minimum" during the 1970's.[8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e Bermudez, Angel (16 February 2019). "Cómo fue el "desembarco de Machurucuto"? El intento de intervención militar en Venezuela ideado en Cuba por Fidel Castro" [What was the "Machurucuto disembarking" like? The attempted military intervention in Venezuela planned in Cuba by Fidel Castro]. BBC News Mundo (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Corzo, Pedro (3 May 2019). "Invasión de Machurucuto, el primer intento cubano de subvertir la democracia venezolana" [The invasion of Machurucuto, the first Cuban attempt to subvert Venezuelan democracy]. Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 25 November 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Venezuela Smashes Cuban-led Landing, Seize Castro's Men". The Morning Record. Associated Press. 13 May 1967. p. 1. Retrieved 2 August 2024 – via Google Newspapers.
  4. ^ a b Ríoseco López-Trigo, Pedro (9 May 2022). "Antonio Briones Montoto, a 55 años de su muerte por la libertad de Venezuela" [Antonio Briones Montoto, 55 years after his death for the freedom of Venezuela]. Granma (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 May 2022. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Latin America: Castro's Targets". TIME. 19 May 1967. Archived from the original on 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  6. ^ a b Boersner, Demetrio (31 August 2001). "Desembarco cubano en Machurucuto, 1967" [Cuban disembarking in Machurucuto, 1967]. Tal Cual (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 10 April 2024. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via Latin American Studies.
  7. ^ "Cuba's Answer to Venezuelan Charges of 'Intervention'" (PDF). The Militant. 12 June 1967. pp. 4–5. Retrieved 3 August 2024 – via Marxists Internet Archive.
  8. ^ Presutto, Fredy (6 May 1993). "Lessons Learned by Venezuela Fighting in Low Intensity Conflict" (PDF). United States Army War College. p. 9. Retrieved 3 August 2024.

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