THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN

SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937

WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
On the 12th of March 1937 in the Garifuna community of San Juan
(Durugubuti), an unprecedented event took place in the political history
of Honduras. Approximately a dozen Garinagu who sympathized with
the Liberal Party, were executed in this region. They were under the
command of Tomás “Caquita” Martínez along with a confident of
President Tiburcio Carías Andino, who happened to be his bodyguard,
and with the help of the local authorities among them , Pascual Valerio
(the commandant), Florentino García (Waikara Free), Casimiro Reyes,
Luciano Cayetano, Cipriano Estrada, Aniceto Castillo (Banyé) and
Emérito Estrada2.

This crime took place at 9:00 am on 12 March, 1937 in front of the

community’s Catholic church and it was christened with the name “The
Massacre of San Juan” even though a local Honduran poet renamed it
with the nickname “El Día De Las Fotos” (Day of The Portraits).

GENESIS OF A TRAGEDY

The Carias (Cariista) dictatorship was just beginning. Tiburcio Carías

Andino was elected constitutionally as President of the young Honduran
Republic for a period of 4 years (1933-1937), according to article 110 of
the political constitution of 1924. Therefore, in 1936, it was time to
celebrate new elections in order for the newly elected president to take
office in the month of February of the following year.

However, calling for new elections, it meant for Carias, to give up his
throne to the Liberal Party. The consequences of this turn of events
The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
happening would bring drastic changes which meant to modify the
“class system” that prevailed. It meant to elect a Capitalist that was
committed to the people. Such possibility was objected by the big
players at the time made up of the banana republic monopolies.

They opposed a formal democracy professed by the Liberals and alleged

enemies of the Liberal leader at that moment, Ángel Zúñiga Huete,
whom they criticized for his arrogance and pointed remarks. The banana
companies and the land owners accorded then not to call for elections
and to prolong even more Carias’ period as president of the Honduran
government.

This move would preserve the scheme of the dominant forces of the
moment. The premise of this move was to maintain peace obtained
supposedly by the Carias regime, but in reality, it was the product of the
understanding convened by the rivalry largely kept among the banana
republic monopolies. Once the decision was taken, Carías set aside the
established norms and called for a National Constituent Assembly with
the idea to reform the Carta Magna, proclaiming on 28 March 1936 a
new Constitution of the Republic. According to the new constitutional
law, Death Penalty was instituted and the new period for the Presidency
went from 4 to 6 years.

Carias’ legislators, vested to comply with the newly established plan,

devised a chapter that delineated an adhoc [solution designed for a
specific problem] called “De la Observancia” [the watchful eye]. This

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
chapter highlighted article 202, which literally reads: “The
Constitutional Presidency and Vice Presidency of the Republic headed
respectively by Doctor and General Tiburcio Carias Andino and
Engineer and General Abraham Williams Calderon, will effectively
leave office on 1 January 1943; thereby, articles 116, 117, and 118 will
be suspended until the above mentioned date of this Constitution”.

In order to mitigate organized protests which had already started in the

previous presidency by the people, President Carias ordered massive and
expansive repression. In fact, some of his party members and friends
had to go into exile because they protested against slight disagreements
caused by his organized dictatorship. A clear example was Venancio
Callejas (one of the 3 Delegates who opposed altering the Constitution
in 1936), he was a national leader of the National Party and a Carias
supporter from 1933-1936.

Members of the Liberal Party and other anti-Carias protesters abruptly

reacted to these changes by rebelling against Carias and organizing
revolution movements around the country. Among some of the rebels
was General Justo Umaña, “the only man with the necessary courage
and determination to scare General Carías”.

Justo Umaña functioned as the Major of the Plaza in La Esperanza,

Intibucá, one of the 18 Departments of the Republic in the preceding
government. He participated in the revolt known as “uprising of the
Plaza Majors”, a movement whose objective was to impede the official

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
swearing of the newly popularly elected president Carias in 1932 whose
runner up was José Zuniga Huete member of the Liberal Party6.
Immediately after this popular upsizing, Umaña went into exile.

Garinagu who had affiliated and supported side by side with the Liberal
Party from its beginnings in the decade of the 1930s, “were accused of
being responsible for secretly bringing into the country, the exiled Justo
Umaña.; the news came in 1937 that Garifuna leaders from San Juan,
Tela were accomplices. “

Justo Umaña had migrated to Belize and Mexico, then came back and
landed in a boat nearby Tela [towards the end of that year]. Before his
arrival to the San Juan village, he was in El Porvenir and San Francisco,
close to Ceiba, inciting people to revolt; then he commissioned one of
his men who lived in Tela, who was only known by his last name
Bonilla, to persuade Garinagu who were willing to come together and
travel to El Progreso and Tegucigalpa, the capital, to fight against the
soldiers commanded by General Carías.

This event gave Garifuna leader Pedro Martínez a motive to become an

active member and to expedite his participation along with other
Garinagu who volunteered as guides, to transport weapons and soldiers
into the country coming from Pavisco, Mexico, in order to support the
revolt led by General Umaña.

Unfortunately, there was a list with the names of all the insurgents. One
of them was Florentino García, a despicable traitor to the cause. This list
The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
was delivered to General Eduardo Rosales, Mayor of Tela, who warned
them that if they did not desist and dropped plans to revolt, he would
immediately notify the authorities in Tegucigalpa. By now, the
revolutionaries had been in hiding in a secret place near San Juan known
as Sálvame, located by Puerto Arturo’s side.

The other component of the guerrilla force, was stationed in Cola de

Mico, Tornabé. The plan was that from there, they would come down in
the middle of the night anytime into San Juan looking for food which
was made available by the villagers. Tela authorities realized the trouble
brewing in San Juan and they ordered the capture of Pedro Martinez.
The people demanded that Pedro Martinez be released immediately.
However another Garifuna rebel by the name of Modesto Trigueño, was
incarcerated. In February 1937, when the patriotic group was organized
and ready to fight the regime, Justo Umaña and his contingent attacked
El Progreso, Yoro Plaza9.

The following is the list of those who participated in the attack: Román
Martínez, Antolín Martínez (both Pedro Martínez’s sons), Álvaro
Castillo, Jerónimo “Chombo” Arzú and others. In the meantime, a group
of fighting Garinagu were in El Progreso and another group was
infiltrating the country bringing weapons from Belize. The weapons
disembarked by night time along the Tornabé and Miami sandbars
[known before as Barra Vieja].

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
From there the insurgents transported the weapons to El Progresso on
mules’ backs taking a shortcut which led to Toyos, or by a place known
as El Retiro, in Atlántida, passing through Morazán and Negrito, until
they reached their destination. In February 1937 the infamous incendiary
bombs, were used against Garinagu for the very first time in San Juan
close to a hill in El Progreso11.

General Umaña’s forces were defeated by the Carias militia, where

Garifuna rebel soldiers such as; Chombo Arzú and one of the sons of
Pedro Martínez died on the scene. Defeated in the scuffle, the General
Umana escaped to Guatemala, where he was killed by the chief of the
secret police of that nation on the 3rd of August of this same year.

GARIFUNA PRESENCE IN SAN JUAN, DURUGUBUTI

According to research, this beautiful place becomes a Garifuna

community around 1889. Evidence of the presence of Garinagu in San
Juan, Tela is found in an official communique when on the 20th of April
1891, the Municipality of Tela ordered the community aids located in
the San Juan River, West of Tela, to create sanitary teams in order to
fight back the smallpox outbreak in the area. This is where a Garifuna
man by the name of Guadalupe Reyes took part in the Sanitary
Committee of the locality2. This community was founded by Dionisio

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
Lorenzana3 with the name of Durugubuti Baibai. Immediately after,
Marcelino Gamboa, Timoteo Lino, Claro Lamberth, and Alberto
Martínez arrived and settled there.

On the 21st of February 1891, Eleuteria Castillo was born making her the
first daughter and the first child to be born in this town. The Garifuna
people in the town adopted the name San Juan due to the heavy Catholic
influence and in honor of the patron Saint John the Baptist. San Juan
( Durugubuti ) happens to be the martyr community of the Garinagu due
to the horrific massacre that took place there. It was an unprecedented
political event in the country of Honduras because it was where a dozen
Garinagu who were affiliated to the Liberal Party were executed by a
firing squad. Those who escaped this genocide, migrated to Belize and
sought refuge with their families in the country of Belize.

This last mass migration of Garifuna people to Belize, added more

Garifuna citizens to the village of Ugadan now known as Hopkins that
was officially established in 1942 in the Stann Creek District. The
people in Hopkins village came from an earlier village in the Commerce
Bight area of Dangriga town that was known as New Town. This village
was established shortly after the first mass migration of Garifuna people
came to Belize in 1801. It was destroyed by a hurricane in 1941and most
of the residents moved southwards to their current location. Other
members of the village decided to move northwards into the heart of
Dangriga town.

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE
Back in San Juan, and in 1993, community leaders started to proceed to
take legal ownership of their land by registering them under land titles.
This was a move led by Wilfredo Guerrero Bernárdez, who served as a
board council (Fiscal de Patronato), and conjointly negotiated through
the local Community Development Center (CEDEC).

It was done under the executive direction of Salvador Suazo and the
legal representation of attorney at law Francisco Álvarez Sambulá. The
community obtained their titles of ownership of their land under full
domain on 6 June 2000, officially endorsed by National Agrarian
Institute (I.NA). The title obtained includes three hundred and twenty
eight hectares (328.31 ) of superficial extension.

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga
 THE GARIFUNA MASSACRE THAT TOOK PLACE IN SAN
SAN JUAN JUAN, TELA, HONDURAS ON MARCH 12TH 1937
WELLINGTON C. RAMOS
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND POLITICAL SCIENCE

A GARIFUNA HERO TO BE ACKNOWLEDGED

The history of the Garifuna Massacre in San Juan, Tela Honduras, was first
prepared By: Professor Salvador Suazo Bernardez a renown Garifuna Activist,
Writer, Lecturer and Publisher from Honduras in Spanish. Then, it was translated
By: Rony Figueroa MPA a Garifuna Activist to English and then edited By:
Wellington C. Ramos Adjunct Professor of History and Political Science and a
Garifuna Activist.
Wr-3111955uga