Avelino Arredondo

Avelino Arredondo was a Uruguayan assassin.

Background

Arredondo was a strong supporter of a rival faction of the ruling Colorado Party government of President Juan Idiarte Borda. An apparent attempt was made on the life of President Idiarte in the spring of 1897, and which was widely publicized, including in "El Día", edited by José Batlle y Ordóñez, where Arredondo's name also mysteriously appeared in connection with this incident, although he was ostensibly unconnected with this attempt on Idiarte's life.

Assassination of Uruguayan President

On August 25 1897 Arredondo assassinated Idiarte in the Uruguayan capital Montevideo as he emerged from a church service [ 'Juan Idiarte Borda', Wikipedia (in Spanish), [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Idiarte_Borda] ] . Claiming to have acted alone, he was convicted of the crime and imprisoned.

Arredondo's act of slaying Idiarte is hitherto the only instance of the assassination of a sitting President in the history of Uruguay.

Place in literature

Arredondo was later mentioned in the writings of the Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges, who was an acute observer of Uruguayan history and politics [ 'Borges: Collected Fictions', [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0140286802] ] .

ee also

* Politics of Uruguay

References

* [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Idiarte_Borda]
* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0140286802]