El Porteñazo
El Porteñazo (2 June 1962 – 6 June 1962) was a short-lived Communist military rebellion against the government of Rómulo Betancourt in Venezuela, in which rebels attempted to take over the city of Puerto Cabello, located ~75 miles (121 km) West of the capital Caracas. The rebellion was on a substantially larger scale than that of El Carupanazo a month earlier.
| El Porteñazo | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bombardment of the Solano Castle during the Porteñazo. | |||||||
| |||||||
| Government-Insurgents | |||||||
| Venezuelan government | Military rebels | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Rómulo Betancourt |
Manuel Ponte Rodríguez Pedro Medina Silva Víctor Hugo Morales | ||||||
| Military support | |||||||
| Armed Forces of Venezuela | Rebel forces | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 400+ dead and 700 injured | |||||||
On 2 June 1962, units led by navy Captains Manuel Ponte Rodríguez, Pedro Medina Silva and Víctor Hugo Morales went into rebellion. The 55th National Guard Detachment declined to participate. The rebellion was crushed by 3 June, leaving more than 400 dead and 700 injured, and by 6 June the rebels' stronghold of Solano Castle had fallen.
A photograph of chaplain Luis María Padilla holding a wounded soldier during the rebellion won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Photography and 1962 World Press Photo of the Year for Héctor Rondón of La República.