Machurucuto raid
1967 raid in Venezuela
The Machurucuto raid (Spanish: desembarco de Machurucuto, lit. 'Machurucuto disembarking'), also known as the invasion of Machurucuto (Spanish: invasión de Machurucuto), was a battle involving the Venezuelan Army and National Guard troops against Cuban-trained guerrillas.
On 8 May 1967, a dozen guerrillas landed in Venezuela near the coastal town of Machurucuto, with one of them drowning. Venezuelan authorities engaged three of them on the night of 10 May and the battle lasted into 11 May, killing one and capturing the other two. The remaining eight linked up with guerrillas in the Andes who were attempting to overthrow President Raúl Leoni.
Events
Landing
On 8 May, four Cuban and eight Venezuelan guerrillas sailed into Venezuelan territorial waters in a warship disguised as a fishing boat, disembarking on two rafts once close enough to the coast. They brought with them AK-47s and 10,000 in both U.S. dollars and Venezuelan bolívars, which they planned to hand over to Revolutionary Left Movement forces stationed in the Andes who were attempting to overthrow the Venezuelan government.
Once they landed, the Venezuelans set off to the east, while the Cubans headed back to the warship. However, their raft capsized on the way back, leading to one of them (later identified as Lt. Pico) drowning and forcing the other three to swim to shore.
Confrontation
Local fishermen found one of the guerillas' rafts and notified the armed forces.
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