Rise of Tupamaros

The Tupamaros, formally the National Liberation Movement, were an urban guerrilla group in Uruguay, founded by Raul Sendic, taking their name from the eighteenth-century Peruvian rebel Tupac Amaru. At a time when Uruguay was in economic crisis, the group carried out bank robberies, kidnappings and attacks, claiming to fight for social justice, and became known for their Robin Hood-like actions in their early years. As the violence escalated and the government used emergency powers, the military took over the fight and defeated the group by the early 1970s, and the military took over the country in 1973. Many Tupamaros were imprisoned and tortured, among them the future president Jose Mujica, who was elected in 2009.

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