Within the yr 1980, the Dominican Republic Embassy was siege by M-19 guerrillas in Bogota, Colombia, throughout a diplomatic reception celebrating Dominican Independence Day and diplomats attending have been consequently taken hostage. The guerillas seized practically sixty people, together with fourteen ambassadors captive for sixty-one days.
On the night time of February 27, 1980, seventeen guerillas clothed in warm-up garments of joggers squalled the embassy compound positioned in a village of Bogota. The Dominican Republic Embassy was celebrating Dominican Independence Day with a diplomatic reception a selection of diplomats were attending the celebration. Armed with grenades and AK-forty seven’s, the guerillas stormed the embassy wounding five people, while a seventeen-12 months previous guerilla was initially killed by the police.
The hostages included Angelo Acerbi, the papal nuncio to Colombia, and ambassadors of fourteen nations namely Austria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Israel, Mexico, Switzerland, United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela. There were also different diplomats including Bolivia, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Peru, plus Colombian civilians and employees at the embassy among the many hostages.
The demand of fifty million {dollars} was stipulated by the gunmen, to be raised by the countries whose diplomats have been held hostage, and the discharge of three hundred eleven jailed comrades. The chief of the Dominica Republic Embassy siege called “Commander Uno” was later identified as Rosemberg Pabón.
Negotiations started between the Colombian authorities and the guerillas after they threatened to kill the hostages. Eighteen folks including the Costa Rican ambassador and fourteen other ladies have been launched by the hostage takers on February 28. On the 29th of February, 5 extra women had been freed. Negotiations attained the release of four cooks and a waiter on March 2nd.
On the 7th of March, the Austrian ambassador was liberated, and on the eighth of March the calls for of the guerillas to free three hundred eleven prisoners had been diminished to seventy and the hostage quantity lowered to ten million dollars. Early on the 17th of March, Fernando Gomez, the Uruguayan ambassador, escaped from the Dominican Republic Embassy by jumping from a window and working to troops surrounding the compound. That very same day, Fidel Castro, provided the guerillas refuge in Cuba.
From the thirtieth of March to the nineteenth of April, the guerillas freed the consul of Costa Rican and all the remaining non-diplomatic hostages, they usually requested a gathering in Panama with Colombian leaders to make resolutions on the Dominican Republic Embassy crisis but it was denied by the Colombian government. The guerilla’s demand on the release of two dozen prisoners was denied but they got $2.5 million in ransom money. On the 27th of April, ambassadors of Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Israel, and Egypt have been released along with Colombians. Sixteen guerillas left the Dominican Republic Embassy with twelve remaining hostages and boarded Cubana Airways; cheering Colombians have been waiting for them at the airport, the place they flew to Havana and the place the remaining diplomats were launched and returned to their home countries.
Rosemberg Pabón, the chief of the M-19 group promised to return to Colombia after living exile in Cuba, and eventually returned to Colombia after the M-19 group signed a peace treaty in March of 1990. This group was destabilized after seizing the Colombian Palace of Justice in November of 1985 which left dozens dead. The siege of the Dominican Republic Embassy was the largest abduction of diplomats in world history.
No related posts.
