The M-19's history may be divided into two parts: the first was a failed armed revolutionary struggle during the early to mid-1980s, while the second was a relatively constructive reincorporation into civil society and political life during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Theft of Bolívar's sword Among the actions performed by the M-19, some significant events stand out. In a highly symbolic action, the M-19 stole one of the swords of
Simón Bolívar from the
Quinta de Bolívar museum in 1974, an event which was used by the group to symbolize what they called a civilian uprising against a regime perceived as unjust. M-19 promised to return the sword by 18 December 1990, the 160th anniversary of Bolívar's death. But the organization was unable to keep its pledge and was forced to admit it was no longer in possession of the sword. However, in 1991, M-19 would eventually return the sword.
Kidnapping and murder of José Raquel Mercado On 15 February 1976, the M-19 kidnapped the union leader Jose Raquel Mercado, who was the president of Confederation of Workers of Colombia (CTC), charged him with selling out the interests of Colombian workers to U.S. imperialism, and sentenced him to death. The group accused Mercado of taking bribes and collaborating with the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The M-19 had offered to "commute" the labor leader's death sentence if the government reinstated thousands of fired workers, gave public employees the right to strike and published a communique in 12 Colombian newspapers. Mercado's body was wrapped in plastic, and propped up against a lamppost in a Bogota park.
Theft of arms from the north canton On New Year's Eve 1979, the group dug a tunnel into a Colombian Army weapons depot, taking over 5000 weapons. It was considered one of the first signs of the group's true potential for armed action.
Dominican Republic embassy siege The group is also recognized for other high-profile activities, such as the
Dominican embassy siege. The guerrillas stormed the
Dominican Republic's embassy during a cocktail party on 27 February 1980. They took the largest recorded number of diplomats held hostage to date in Colombia, which accounted for 14 ambassadors, including the United States'. Eventually, after tense negotiations with the government of
Julio César Turbay Ayala, the hostages were peacefully released and the hostage takers were allowed to leave the country for exile in Cuba. Some of them later returned and actively rejoined the M-19's activities. Many contemporary rumors and later accounts from the participants in this event have suggested that the Colombian government might have submitted to another of the M-19 demands, by allegedly giving the group 1 to 2.5 million U.S. dollars in exchange for the release of the hostages.
Kidnapping and Murder of Chester "Chet" Bitterman In 1979, Chester "Chet" Bitterman traveled with his wife to Colombia to begin mission work with Wycliffe with the
Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), an organization dedicated to documenting lesser known-languages in order to create translations of the
Christian Bible. On January 19, 1981, Bitterman was taken hostage by M-19. M-19 accused SIL of working with the CIA to destroy indigenous cultures, violate Colombian sovereignty and loot the country's resources and demanded SIL withdraw all 209 of its people from Colombia, or they would kill Bitterman. After SIL's refusal to yield to the demands, Bitterman was found murdered. The building caught fire and ultimately more than 100 people died (including 11 of the country's 21 Supreme Court Justices), and valuable legal records were destroyed. The M-19 lost several of its top commanders during the event. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights said in a 2014 ruling the Colombian state was responsible for forced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial executions during the crisis. In 2015, President Juan Manuel Santos apologized for the Colombian military's role in the deaths of civilian victims killed during its assault. Citing the court decision, Santos added that he also apologised for violating the right to personal safety of those who were inside the Palace of Justice. A Special Commission of Inquiry, established by the Betancur government, released a June 1986 report which concluded that
Pablo Escobar had no relation with this event, so these allegations could not be proven (though it did not rule out the possibility either). Author Ana Carrigan alleged that the act was a conspiracy of the Colombian government. Others state that the alleged Guerrilla-Cartel relation was unlikely to occur because the two organizations had several standoffs and confrontations, like the kidnapping of Nieves Ochoa, the sister of Medellin cartel founder
Juan David Ochoa Vásquez, by M-19. The kidnapping led to the creation of the MAS/
Muerte a Secuestradores ("Death to Kidnappers") paramilitary group by the
Medellin cartel. However, her theories and skepticism of Escobar and the Medellin Cartel's involvement was greatly discredited by others such as Rex Hudson, who presented allegedly "overwhelming evidence" linking the cartel to the plot. Former Assistant of the Colombia Attorney General, National Deputy Comptroller, author and Professor Jose Mauricio Gaona along with former Minister of Justice and Ambassador to the United Kingdom
Carlos Medellín Becerra, the sons of two of the murdered Supreme Court magistrates, have pushed for further investigations into the presumed links between the M-19 and the
Medellín Cartel drug lords. Mayor of Bogota
Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla, has denied these accusations and dismissed them as based upon the inconsistent testimonies of drug lords. Petro says that the surviving members of the M-19 do admit to their share of responsibility for the tragic events of the siege, on behalf of the entire organization, but deny any links to the drug trade. == Members ==