Published at: 13/05/2026 08:47 PM

(Clarín, May 12, 1962 and Victims of Representative Democracy in Venezuela, author: Raúl Zurita Daza)

• At the time of the Puntofijist dictatorship of Democratic Action (AD) and Copei, the governments of their successive presidents were responsible for mourning thousands of Venezuelan families, whose heads of household were forced to spend their days remembering their absent sons or daughters, who perished at the hands of police forces and Adeco-Copeyan armed bands.
• While the entire country spent decades celebrating Mother's Day, thousands of women had to bury their joys because of the raids, kidnappings, torture, shootings and disappearances of their children or spouses.
• However, these mothers were not intimidated by that regime of terror, raising their voices to denounce the atrocities and truths of what happened. They remain inscribed in history because of their incredible courage and moral greatness.
• Some of those who were killed or survived by their children are:
  • On May 9, 1961, the day that Romulo Betancourt outlawed the Communist Party of Venezuela (PCV) and the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), Eduviges Colorado, 50, mother of one son, and Elulalia Fuenmayor, 36, the father of nine, were killed by police.
  • On May 12, 1962, in the midst of political persecution triggered by the disqualification of the PCV and the MIR, María Teresa Montesinos, a 26-year-old mother, was murdered by the police.
  • On November 11, 1961, Livia González was shot dead by the police. She was pregnant and left two children orphaned.
  • Lola Camero de Gouverneur , mother of Livia Gouverneur, a young student of psychology and a symbol of communist youth, was murdered, on November 1, 1961, by baptistery mercenaries, in the farm “La Hogareña”, in the Las Acacias sector of Sabana Grande.
  • Eduvigis de Ruíz, mother of 14-year-old Álvaro Ruíz, who was murdered on April 4, 1962 outside the Luis Ezpelosín High School, by armed AD groups.
  • Rosa Marcano de Millán , mother of Alberto Millán, who was massacred on May 4, 1962 at the Liceo Miguel José Sanz, in Maturín, by the lobbyists of Democratic Action (AD).
  • Fanny Silva de Guerra, mother of Rafael Guerra, murdered during the massacre at Liceo Sanz de Maturín, on May 4, 1962, by armed AD gangs.
  • Francia Álvarez, mother of Lídice Álvarez, a high school student at the Fermín Toro High School, who was murdered on October 19, 1963, in Plaza Venezuela, while protesting against the North American company Columbia Pictures.
  • María de Jesús Morgado , grandmother of Aquiles Bellorín Morgado, a fierce popular fighter, murdered at the age of 25, on March 4, 1962, by agents of the General Directorate of Police (DIGEPOL) in Lídice.
  • Petra de Wockmer, mother of 14-year-old Mario Guillermo Wockmer, who studied at the Martín J. Sanabria School until he was killed on January 3, 1960 by the government's armed apparatus.
  • Ana Dolores Martín, mother of Antonio Martín, who was assassinated in El Retiro, on December 16, 1961, during the riots caused by J. F. Kennedy's visit to Venezuela.
  • Cruz Herrera de Pinto, mother of José Gregorio Pinto, a 19-year-old Urredist, who was shot in the back by plain-clothed police officers in the El Polvorín neighborhood, on April 28, 1963.
  • Carmen de Mezones , mother of Alberto Rudas Mezones, 18, who was shot down at the Angelitos Corner on November 15, 1961, when she was protesting against the severance of relations between the Betancourt government and Cuba.
  • Omaira Castrellón , mother of 13-year-old Ali Antonio Castrellón, who was murdered on January 12, 1962 by members of the Municipal Police in Lídice.
  • Rosa Rojas de Soto, mother of sociologist Víctor Soto Rojas, 31, who was shot and disappeared in El Bachiller Hill in July 1964.
  • Lucia Daza, mother of Iván “Chino” Daza, who was arrested and shot with Paramaconi Laya, by armed AD gangs, on January 23, 1966, in the vicinity of El Tocuyo, edo. Lara.
  • Argelia Laya, mother of Paramaconi Laya, arrested and shot together with the “Chinese” Daza, on January 23, 1966.
  • Aura Blanca Vetancourt de Vera, mother of Luis Vera Vetancourt “Plutarco”, shot down by DIGEPOL with Fabricio Aristiguieta in the Barrio El Nazareno, in Petare, on August 25, 1967.
  • Sixta Colina de Petit, mother of José Agustín and Amado Petit. Both were arrested and disappeared by the government of Raúl Leoni.
  • Elena Reina, mother of Argelio and Carlos Reina. Both were victims of Rafael Caldera's “pacification” policy. Argelio was arrested on February 15, 1973 while visiting some political prisoners in San Juan de los Morros. Two days later, his body was handed over to his relatives with signs of savage torture. His brother, Carlos, was a distributor of the newspaper Punto, and was executed, on March 5, 1969, with an FAL shot in the back by National Guard officers on January 23.
  • Ana Suárez de Pasquier, mother of Ramón and Andrés Pasquier. Ramón Salvador, a UCV engineering student, was arrested at 2:00am on November 27, 1966, in a checkpoint near the town of San Juan de los Cayos, in the state of Edo. Falcon. Andrés, a law student, had already been kidnapped on October 16 of that year. Their mother searched for them all over the country. To this day they remain missing.
  • Zenaida Mata de Rodríguez, mother of Noel Rodríguez, 33, arrested by police officers on June 29, 1973. His remains were found, 40 years later, in a niche in the General Cemetery of the South, on January 19, 2013.
  • Eloína Rodríguez, mother of Jorge Rodríguez, 34, leader and founder of the Socialist League. He was kidnapped on July 23, 1976 by agents of the DISIP. Two days later, after savage torture and beatings, he was found dead in a cell at that police headquarters.
  • Elba Marín de Bottini, mother of Rafael and Federico Bottini Marín. Rafael was shot down by the Judicial Technical Police (PTJ) in front of the house of the industrialist and tin magnate, Carlos Domínguez, in what is known as the massacre on Páez Avenue in El Paraíso.
  • María Teresa Cuenca de Tejero , mother of Alejandro Tejero, who was kidnapped on May 11, 1967, together with his partner Eduardo Navarro Laurens, near the Broadway Cinema, in Chacaito. From there, they were transferred to the Theater of Operations number 5 (TO5) in Yumare, where they were atrociously tortured and have disappeared to this day.
  • On November 27, 1977, after searching for her son, Luis Hernández, who disappeared by police forces, Rosa Emilia Hernández died. The government of Carlos Andrés Pérez never answered his pleas.
  • All of them, not to mention the mothers, widows and orphans of the massacres of: Cantaura, El Caracazo, Yumare, Macarao, Las Moritas, El Amparo, La Victoria, El Paraíso and Valencia.
  • Like the mothers of more than 11,000 Venezuelans who fell victim to kidnappings, torture, shootings and forced disappearances, imposed by the bipartisan dictatorship, to make way for the bloodiest chapter in our contemporary history.

Mazo News Team