Published at: 28/05/2025 09:00 PM

(Clarín and Última Noticias, June 2, 1962)

• On May 25, 1962, José Gregorio Rodríguez was arrested with his wife by the armed gangs of Democratic Action and they were victims of the persecutory fury unleashed by Rómulo Betancourt.
• Later, he was transferred to the interrogation rooms of the General Directorate of Police (DIGEPOL), where he was atrociously tortured. Even though he was alive and in handcuffs, he was thrown from the fourth floor of that police headquarters to simulate suicide.
• His wife, Barbarita Blanco de Rodríguez, heard his cries up close when he was tortured. José Gregorio's body had 50 injuries caused by knife weapons.
• Doctors Eduardo Mancera Gallegos, Héctor Marcano and Molina Martí, responsible for investigating the causes of his death, were able to determine that it occurred as a result of the brutal beating inflicted. His kidneys were completely destroyed, as were his liver and some ribs with clear signs that he was hit with plastic-lined black jack.
• At the time the body was lifted off the pavement, José Gregorio Rodríguez was handcuffed. His body was thrown into the void, fell on his back and presented a six-centimeter deep wound on his forehead.
• When questioned in the National Congress, the Minister of Internal Relations, Carlos Andrés Pérez, maintained that the detainee committed suicide.
• In the midst of the questioning carried out by the Committee on Internal Policy, convincing facts and evidence were mentioned, before which Pérez was silent.
• Faced with all these allegations, the minister argued that the arrested union leader was “a highly dangerous criminal”.
• Those newspapers that denied the official version of “suicide” and revealed the truth were raided and shut down: Clarín, La Hora, La Extra and Izquierda.
• The final report of the Domestic Policy Committee of the Chamber of Deputies concluded that José Gregorio Rodríguez died at the hands of Digepol agents. The autopsy protocol revealed that his body had multiple fractures, ruptured liver, kidneys, and internal detachment of other vital organs.

Mazo News Team