Tupamaros

The National Liberation Movement – Tupamaros (Spanish: Movimiento de Liberación Nacional – Tupamaros, MLN-T) was a Marxist–Leninist urban guerrilla group that operated in Uruguay during the 1960s and 1970s. It was responsible for numerous violent incidents involving left-wing terrorist activities. In 1989, the group was admitted into the Broad Front and a large number of its members joined the Movement of Popular Participation (MPP). Formed in the early 1960s, the MLN-T sought to create a revolutionary state through armed struggle, taking inspiration from the 1953-59 Cuban Revolution led by Fidel Castro. However, unlike the latter, it conducted its operations in urban areas. The organization gained notoriety for its violent acts of sabotage, bank and armory robberies, assassinations of military and police officers, bombings, and kidnappings of judges, businessmen, diplomats and politicians. The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of Marxist politics. José Mujica, who later became President of Uruguay, was also a member. 300 Tupamaros died either in action or in prisons (mostly in 1972), according to officials of the group. About 3,000 Tupamaros were also imprisoned.