Leon Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces

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Leon Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces
Fuerzas Autónomas y Destructivas León Czolgosz
Dates of operationJanuary 18, 2006 (2006-01-18)–May 2009 (2009-05)
Country Chile
Active regionsSantiago Metropolitan Area
IdeologyAnti-americanism
Anti-patriotism
Anti-authoritarianism
Anti-imperialism
Illegalism
Individualist anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism
Political positionPost-left
Notable attacksArson and explosive attacks
StatusInactive
Allies
Opponents Government of Chile

The Leon Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Autónomas y Destructivas León Czolgosz, FADLC, also known as the Leon Czolgosz Autonomous Attack Fraction), were a Chilean anarchist cell formed in September 2006, known for its attacks against the National Intelligence Agency of Chile and the British embassy in Chile. The name of the group was in honor of the American anarchist Leon Czolgosz, who on September 6, 1901 assassinated then-United States President William McKinley with two bullets at point-blank range.[1][2]

Context[edit]

This was one of several anarchist cells that were created in the late 2000s, where they commonly attacked their targets with fire extinguishers filled with gunpowder or any medium-strength explosive.[3][4][5] About two-thirds of the bombs detonated, with the rest defused. Targets included banks (about a third of the bombs), police stations, army barracks, churches, embassies, the headquarters of political parties, company offices, courthouses and government buildings. The bombs detonated mainly at night, and there are seldom injuries among passers-by, none seriously. The only fatality was a young anarchist, Mauricio Morales, who died on May 22, 2009, from a bomb he was carrying.[6][7][8] In 2011, another anarchist, Luciano Pitronello, was seriously injured by a bomb he was planting.[9][10] About 80 different groups claimed responsibility for the attacks; the authorities did not know if they are dealing with a group that continually changed its name or with many separate cells. Some groups named themselves after former anarchists around the world, including Leon Czolgosz, who assassinated US President William McKinley in 1901, and Jean-Marc Rouillan, an imprisoned French leftist militant. "The friends of gunpowder" have also been registered.[11][12][13]

History[edit]

Attack on the ANI[edit]

On January 18, 2006, a device exploded near the National Intelligence Agency (ANI). A municipal worker was injured while cleaning the sector.[14] Days later the group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement, warning that communications from other cells are quickly downloaded from the internet and, therefore, some attacks have gone unnoticed.[15]

The group was also responsible for an arson attack at the gates of the Military Cathedral of Chile, which occurred on September 7, 2006, the next day a mass was planned in honor of the soldiers killed during the RPMR attack against the former dictator Augusto Pinochet in Cajón del Maipo. The attack only left material damage to the doors and a partial cut of the electricity supply of some commercial premises adjacent to the Church.[16] In addition, the group took responsibility for throwing a Molotov cocktail at one of the windows of the Palacio de La Moneda, during a demonstration.[17][18]

Chilean authorities arrested Jorge Lizama Sazo (19 years old) on March 31, suspected of being involved in the attack on the car of Minister Gloria Ana Chevesich during a demonstration on the Day of the Young Combatant, in addition to being suspected of being related to the previous attacks. Lizama was released on April 11 due to lack of evidence, but he had to go weekly to sign at the North Central Prosecutor's Office.[17][19][20][21]

Subsequent attacks[edit]

The group's next attack was until April 12, 2007, when they set fire to the doors of the headquarters of the Socialist Party of Chile,[22] and on July 16 an explosion was recorded against the British embassy in Chile around 02:00 a.m. The attack left only material damage to the windows and doors of the building, reported members of the GOPE.[23][24] The next day the group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was retaliation for the British intervention in the Iraq War and in Afghanistan, This being another major attack carried out by the group.[25][26][27][28]

On October 15, 2008, members of the group abandoned an explosive device in the parking lot of the casino belonging to the Chilean Investigative Police, located in the Plaza Brasil commune. The explosive was deactivated by members of the GOPE, highlighting the relationship with the one detonated a few months earlier in the commune of Ñuñoa.[29][30] In a communiqué the group said "Professional executioners of the repression have not forgotten you, our attacks will be increasingly accurate and incessant," saying that the attack was in response to the murder of Jhonny Cariqueo and Marcelo Gonzáles, by Carabineros officers during 2008.[31] It was not until 2009 that the group, together with the Severino di Giovanni Antipatriot Band and Jean Marc Rouillan Armed and Heartless Columns produced a document announcing more attacks, although they did not claim another.[32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Autonomous and Destructive Forces Leon Czolgosz (ADFLC)". Terrorism Research & Analysis Consortium. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  2. ^ "La historia de las "Fuerzas Autónomas y Destructivas León Czolgosz"". Prensa Ira. 15 July 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  3. ^ Abujatum, Jana (2019). "Atentados con artefactos explosivos en Santiago desde 2006 a 2019" (PDF). Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  4. ^ Saldivia, Carlos (29 November 2009). "LOS ANTECEDENTES INÉDITOS DE LAS INVESTIGACIONES POR LOS ATAQUES CON BOMBA" (PDF). Sigweb/División de Seguridad Privada (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  5. ^ "Nuevo bombazo con un muerto agrava la inquietud por posible brote terrorista". El Economista (in Spanish). 25 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  6. ^ Zúñiga, Diego (9 September 2014). "¿Quién está tras el atentado en Chile?". Deutsche Welle (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Anarquista murió tras explosión de bomba que llevaba en su espalda". El Austral- Diario de la Araucania (in Spanish). 23 May 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Nuevo bombazo con un muerto agrava la inquietud por posible brote terrorista". El Economista (in Spanish). 25 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  9. ^ González F., Tomás (29 March 2019). "Día del Joven Combatiente: los crímenes que marcaron el 29 de marzo de 1985". Diario y Radio U Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  10. ^ Long, Gideon (20 August 2014). "Chileans baffled by persistent bomb attack". BBC News. Santiago. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  11. ^ Skidmore, Thomas (2004). Modern Latin America. Oxford University Press. p. 134.
  12. ^ "Chile Shaken by Worst Attack in 30 Years". Latin American Herald Tribune. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  13. ^ "Anarquista murió tras explosión de bomba que llevaba en su espalda". El Austral- Diario de la Araucania (in Spanish). 23 May 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  14. ^ "Fuerzas Autonómicas y Destructivas León Czolgoscz". Terrorism Research & Analisys Research. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  15. ^ León Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces (18 January 2006). "Ayer la CNI, hoy la ANI". Cedema (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  16. ^ "BOMBA INCENDIARIA EXPLOTA EN CATEDRAL CASTRENSE EN SANTIAGO". Crónica Digital (in Spanish). 7 September 2006. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Fiscalía sigue sin identificar a anarquistas que suman cinco atentados". El Mostrador. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  18. ^ León Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces (7 September 2006). "Quemamos la catedral castrense (Comunicado 4)". Cedema (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Jose Lizama Sazo". El Mercurio (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Padre de joven anarquista que agredió a jueza Chevesich dice que su hijo está arrepentido". Líder San Antonio (in Spanish). 11 April 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Joven involucrado en agresión a jueza Gloria Ana Chevesich quedó en libertad". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). 31 March 2007. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  22. ^ León Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces (12 April 2007). "Fuego a la sede de las Juventudes del PS". Cedema (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Explosión sin víctimas frente a la embajada británica en Chile". El País (in Spanish). Santiago. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  24. ^ "Anarquistas chilenos se atribuyen explosión en embajada británica". Voice of America (in Spanish). 17 July 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  25. ^ León Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces (16 July 2007). "Comunicado Nº 13. Atacamos la Embajada Británica". Cedema (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  26. ^ "Explota una bomba frente a la embajada británica en Chile sin dejar víctimas". El Mundo (in Spanish). 16 July 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Explosión cerca de la embajada británica en Santiago de Chile". El Economista (in Spanish). 16 July 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  28. ^ "Un grupo anarquista se atribuye el atentado a la Embajada británica en Chile". El País (in Spanish). 17 July 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  29. ^ "GOPE desactivó bomba en casino de la PDI". Cooperativa.cl. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  30. ^ "GOPE desactivó bomba en casino de la PDI". ADN Radio.cl (in Spanish). 16 October 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  31. ^ León Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces (16 October 2008). "Fracción autónoma de ataque Leon Czolgosz". Cedema (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  32. ^ León Czolgosz Autonomous and Destructive Forces; Jean Marc Rouillan Armed and Heartless Columns; Severino di Giovanni Antipatriot Band (24 May 2009). "Un saludo de Libertad para Mauricio Morales". Cedema (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 February 2021.
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