Published at: 22/04/2026 09:00 PM

(Clarín, El Nacional and Latest News, April 22, 1963)

• 63 years ago, at the end of Romulo Betancourt's term of office, the 22-year-old young worker and leader of the Communist Youth of Venezuela Luis Alfredo Martínez was shot down by agents of the General Directorate of Police (DIGEPOL).
• The events occurred when DIGEPOL agents, stationed on the roof of Radio Continente, fired shots at block 8 of Lomas de Propatria.
• Several young people, upon hearing machine guns clapping, threw themselves to the ground. They were: Samuel Ángel Fuenmayor (21 years old), Pedro Ebilio Muñoz (17 years old), José Ramón Muñoz (19 years old) and Luis Alfredo Martínez (22 years old).
• When the group searched for Luis Alfredo, they found that he was lying on the pavement bleeding profusely. The death was so quick that no moan was heard.
• Luis Alfredo Martínez was hit by a gust while walking back home with other friends. They came from a meeting in the Plaza de Propatria.
• The young communist was shot several times that punctured his head, back and abdomen.
• When questioned in the Chamber of Deputies of the National Congress about this bloody act and others of DIGEPOL, the Minister of Internal Relations, Carlos Andrés Pérez, answered categorically: “I act with the police, you settle with the courts.”

Mazo News Team