Murder of Somoza in Asunción: 46 years since the attack on Avenida España
46 years have passed since the death of former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, who was killed in Asunción on 17 September 1980 by an armed commando.
46 years since the attack on the former Nicaraguan dictator in the heart of the Paraguayan capital
On 17 September, the 46th anniversary is marked of the attack that ended the life of former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in Asunción, as rdn.com.py recalls. In 1980, an armed group intercepted the vehicle in which he was travelling along Avenida España, in an episode that had repercussions within and outside Paraguay.
Somoza was 54 years old and had been in exile in the country since 1979, when he left Nicaragua following the collapse of his regime. Dictator Alfredo Stroessner had granted him asylum, and the former ruler settled in the capital. Just over a year later, he was located by a group linked to the Revolutionary Army of the People (ERP).
The operation was headed by Enrique Gorriarán Merlo and comprised seven members, four men and three women. The commando had carried out previous surveillance tasks to learn the former dictator's movements. During the attack they used automatic weapons and a rocket launcher against the Mercedes-Benz in which Somoza was travelling.
The attack occurred during the morning of 17 September. After intercepting the automobile, the attackers opened fire. Hugo Alfredo Irurzún, known as "Captain Santiago", subsequently fired an RPG-2 rocket launcher. Somoza died along with his driver and his financial adviser.
ABC Color, in its edition the following day, described the episode in these words: "The former president of Nicaragua Anastasio Somoza Debayle died on a street in Asunción with the same violence that characterised his entire life." The newspaper's coverage continued with the tracking of investigations and the reaction of the Stroessnerist regime.
The commando members managed to leave the scene after the attack. According to later reconstructions, they used the Recoleta Cemetery as one of their meeting points before dispersing. The operation exposed shortcomings in the security apparatus of the dictatorship, despite the surveillance that existed over the Nicaraguan exile.
Paraguayan security forces carried out operations and arrests in search of those responsible. Among those captured was Irurzún, who subsequently died whilst in police custody. Historical sources link his death to torture suffered after his detention.
The attack also had international consequences. The Nicaraguan Government of the time officially denied any participation in the operation, according to press records of the era. Four and a half decades on, the attack against Somoza remains one of the episodes of greatest impact that occurred in Asunción during Stroessner's regime.
Source: Google News PY — Crime