Everything about Victoriano Lorenzo totally explained
Victoriano Lorenzo is considered one of the great heroes of
Panamanian history, although his story and motives are sometimes debated by different sectors in his homeland. Born when the
isthmus was still a part of
Colombia, Lorenzo died during the
Thousand Days War shortly after which
Panama gained its independence after many different attempts dating back to 1830.
Born sometime around the 1870s to poor campesinos in what is now the province of
Cocle, Lorenzo was considered a
Cholo, of predominantly indigenous blood with drops of
Europe and
Africa but with a more
Hispanic cultural background.
An elected official outside of the provincial capital of
Penonome, Lorenzo was quick to take arms at the advent of the Thousand Days War in alliance with the
Liberals led in part by Panamanian
patriot Belisario Porras. He led troops in a
Pacific coast skirmish which killed a
conservative mayor and garnered him arms from the Liberals. He commanded his troops into battle in Aguadulce in January of 1902, in which over 750 troops were killed or wounded on both sides, and his Liberal allies claimed 700 prisoners. Later that year, when hundreds of Liberal troops came from
Nicaragua, Lorenzo sent his secretary, Papi Aizpuru, to meet them.
Becoming one of the most wanted men by the Colombian central government, General Lorenzo and his wife, Lorenza Ibarra, led his soldiers to a base in the mountains known as La Trinchera, where he turned to
guerrilla war to advance his cause, and averted many assassination attempts by white Conservatives and traitors.
The end of the Thousand Days War resulted in a defeat for the Liberals. General Benjamin Herrera, who had previously fought alongside Lorenzo in Aguadulce, signed a peace treaty with the Conservatives. Victoriano Lorenzo and his followers refused to give up their arms and insisted on continuing their struggle. After Herrera ordered his arrest, Lorenzo was lured into an ambush. Captive, he was rushed through court proceedings and prepared for execution. Victoriano Lorenzo was executed on May 15th, 1903, within six months from Panama's independence from Colombia.
A hero during his day, Lorenzo became a national legend today. But questions remain, both about Lorenzo's ultimate motives and his death. Lorenzo is considered by some to have waged a war that was ultimately with independence in mind, while others see it as a class war against white elites. There are also claims that United States troops took part in Lorenzo's killing, although there's no known evidence.
Today, several monuments and plaques exist in Cocle and
Veraguas in Lorenzo's honor, and official events celebrating his life and remembering his execution are held both at the commemoration of his death and on the November 3 Independence Day. Panama's controversial figure
Hugo Spadafora organized a contingent of his countrymen to fight against Nicaragua's
Somoza regime in 1976 known as the Victoriano Lorenzo Brigade.
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