Death of Somoza

by Claribel Alegría and Darwin J. Flakoll

Death of Somoza reveals the inside story of the assassination of Anastasio Somoza Debayle in Asuncion, Paraguay in 1980. Alegria and Flakoll, on the recommendation of Julio Cortazar, met "Ramon," a leader in the Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party (PRT) and with his help were able to interview all the survivors of the commando team that carried out the "bringing to justice" of Somoza. Alegria and Flakoll rewove these testimonies into a narrative...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1880684268
• ISBN13: 9781880684269
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Curbstone Press
• Length: 162 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

An engaging read

I just finished this book two weeks ago. It's short and engaging, so for anyone interested in central american history there is no excuse not to read this book. It's a day by day account of the plotting and carrying out of a murder of a man who probably deserved it. All the details are laid out: how they found out where Somoza was, how they got the safe house( which is a great story in itself which I won't reveal), their fears and gaffes, etc. What really struck me was the abscence of self-glorification. This group struck down the man who held the record for theft until Marcos and his wife left town about ten years later. You would think they were entitled to a little dance in the end zone, not them though, they were all business about it. So allow me to raise a toast for them. Though this isn't the kind of story that's supposed to warm one's heart, it does satisfy. In this age there are too many examples of dictators either dying of old age at home or living the life of riley in exile: stalin, pinochet, stroessner, imelda marcos, idi amin, and that guy from ethiopia whose name escapes me, and castro( technically he's neither but the man got away with it and that's my point) to name a few, it's good to know that justice prevails every once in awhile. And I think these people deserve our praise and more people should read and know this story.

Death of Somoza is...

.. without a doubt one of the best testimonials to ever be released to the Latin American revolutionary scene. This one definitely ranks right up there with Ana Guadalupe Martinez' "Las Carceles Clandestinas" and Roque Dalton's "Miguel Marmol". The reader will find the last chapter the best, when Comandante Ramon discusses the nervousness and apprehensions he and the "compas" feel when the moment for action is upon them. I had a hard time putting the book down, and for anyone who has ever lived/traveled in the Central American region and knows the hardships and history of the people well, this short piece is a must have, if for nothing else than its extraordinary retelling of one of the most remarkable events pertinent to the region in the last 50 years.