Revolutionbrigadiersecond-in-command of the Lisbon Military Regioncommander of the forces loyal to the government on 25 April 1974
A brigadier called in to command the forces loyal to the regime on 25 April 1974, he gave orders to open fire at the Ribeira das Naus and on Rua do Arsenal, and his own men disobeyed.
A brigadier and second-in-command of the Lisbon Military Region, he was called in at 06:30 on 25 April 1974 to command the forces loyal to the government.23 He left Ajuda with the regime’s counter-offensive, whose command post was at the Lanceiros 2 barracks.2 At 09:35 he arrived at the Terreiro do Paço with tanks, riflemen from the 1st Infantry Regiment and Military Police.13
On Avenida da Ribeira das Naus, when Salgueiro Maia came forward with a white handkerchief, he ordered Officer Cadet Fernando Sottomayor to open fire on him. Sottomayor refused and was placed under arrest; the tank gunners refused too, and the troops went over to the side of the MFA.1 On Rua do Arsenal he again ordered them to fire and was again disobeyed; exasperated, he punched Lieutenant Alfredo Assunção three times.13
At one in the afternoon he in turn tried to surround Salgueiro Maia’s column, which was surrounding the Carmo Barracks, with positions in Largo de Camões and the neighbouring streets.23 Between 14:00 and 15:00, with his forces broken up, he withdrew and ceased all resistance.23
A 29-year-old captain, he commanded the Cavalry Practical School column that occupied the Terreiro do Paço, faced down the regime’s forces without firing a shot and besieged the Carmo Barracks until he obtained Marcelo Caetano’s surrender.
A lieutenant in Salgueiro Maia’s column, he was assaulted on Rua do Arsenal by Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis while trying to negotiate — and responded with a salute. In the afternoon, he brought Spínola’s emissaries to the Carmo.
An officer of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, at the Ribeira das Naus on 25 April 1974 he refused Brigadier Junqueira dos Reis’s order to fire on Salgueiro Maia, and was placed under arrest for it.
Notes on the sources1
His full name, his dates of birth and death, and what happened to him after 25 April.
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