The first action of the DRIL was in February 1960, consisting of several bomb attacks in
Madrid. A member of the DRIL, José Ramón Pérez Jurado, died during this action due to the explosion of one of the artifacts. His companion Antonio Abad Donoso was arrested and, although none of the explosions produced any victims, was sentenced to death and executed on 8 March of the same year. The most famous action of the DRIL was the
Santa Maria hijacking, in 1961. DRIL militants seized control of Santa Maria, a 609-foot-long (186 m), 20,900-ton Portuguese luxury cruise liner. After talks with the Brazilian government, led by
Jânio Quadros, DRIL members laid down their guns and drove the ship to
Recife in exchange for receiving
political refugee status. The ship was returned to its owners of the Portuguese Company
Colonial de Navegação. The organization continued to carry sporadic attacks between 1961 and 1964, when the organization dissolved. == Notes ==