Laureano Cerrada Assassinated (1975)

Sat Oct 18, 1975

Laureano Cerrada Santos was an anarchist activist and member of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) who was assassinated on this day in 1975.

Santos fought in the Spanish Civil War, helped found the railway union of the CNT, and ran a large forgery operation in France that helped bankroll anti-fascist activism in Francoist Spain.

On January 18th, 1951, an attempted robbery committed by Spanish anarchists went wrong, killing at least three people and wounding eight innocent bystanders.

The Francoist government used this episode to lead a widespread crackdown on the libertarian movement, and France soon followed suit. Cerrada was exiled from the CNT for his association with these activities, but continued his work after being released from prison.

On this day in 1975, Cerrada was murdered by Ramón Benicho Canuda, a CNT infiltrator and French Mafioso who killed Cerrada to prevent his discovery. Canuda fled to Canada after the murder, and was never charged for the crime. Named as working for a foreign power while in Toronto, Canuda subsequently disappeared.

• Date: 1975-10-18
• Learn More: christiebooks.co.uk, www.katesharpleylibrary.net.
• Tags: #Assassinations, #Anarchism, #Fascism.
• Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org